Crime & Safety
Educator From Morris Co. Accused Of Sex Crime Against Former Student
The student was between the ages of 13 and 17 at the time, and the alleged acts happened on school grounds, officials added.
ROCKAWAY, NJ — A Morris County man who works as a school administrator has been accused of aggravated sexual contact with a student at the Bergen County district he previously worked for, prosecutors said.
Officials said 55-year-old Kurt Zimmermann had sexual conduct with the former student multiple times on school grounds, while he served as the director of bands for the Westwood Regional School District. The student was between the ages of 13 and 17 at the time, officials added.
Zimmerman, who is currently listed as the coordinator of student discipline at Hopatcong High School, has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said. Officials arrested the Rockaway resident in Paramus on Friday, Feb. 23.
Patch has reached out to Hopatcong Schools administrators for comment.
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On Jan. 3, 2024, the Hopatcong Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit regarding alleged sexual conduct between a teacher and a student in Westwood, officials said.
An investigation determined that Zimmermann, "while previously employed by the Westwood Regional School District as the director of bands, engaged in sexual conduct with a juvenile student between the ages of 13 and 17 on more than one occasion," Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Friday.
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"The sexual conduct, which occurred in the past, was determined to have taken place at Westwood Regional Middle School in Westwood and at Westwood Regional High School in Washington Township," Musella added.
Zimmerman was charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact, and one count of second-degree child endangering. Officials took him to the Bergen County Jail, pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
The investigation, led by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, is ongoing, prosecutors said. Anyone with additional information about this case is encouraged to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at (201) 226-5532.
Patch's Caren Lissner contributed to this report.
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