Former Performing Arts Academy Teacher Accused Of Sexual Contact With Student

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A former teacher at the Performing Arts Academy has been charged with having sexual contact with a former student, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Douglas J. Bollinger, 56, of Neptune City, was arrested Thursday at his home in connection with incidents that happened in 2019, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Bollinger, who was a teacher at the Ocean County Vocational Technical Schools' Performing Arts Academy, is accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a female student in Point Pleasant Beach and in Asbury Park between February 2019 and August 2019, Billhimer said.

He was charged on Monday with two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual contact, Billhimer said.

Bollinger is no longer a teacher at the Performing Arts Academy, he said.

"I would encourage parents to have a conversation with their children if they had Mr. Bollinger as a teacher," Billhimer said.

Anyone with information about Bollinger or the investigation is asked to call Detective Nicole Testa of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, ext. 3489, he said.

Bollinger is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Lakehurst Police Department, Manchester Township Police Department, Point Pleasant Beach Police Department, Asbury Park Police Department, and United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, collaborated on the investigation.