The New Jersey teenager who allegedly fathered a child with his elementary school teacherwhen he was 13 says all charges against her should be dropped.
Laura Caron, 34, was arrested earlier this month and charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Per the Cape May Prosecutor’s Office, the charges stemmed from her “inappropriate relationship with a student, born in 2005, who had been residing in her home” from 2016 to 2020.
In addition to the teen in question, his brother and sister also lived with Caron.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, the teen, who is now 19, says, “They need to drop all charges. I wasn’t groomed or raped or manipulated by her. She never initiated anything.”
“I started everything. If it was up to me she wouldn’t have been in jail. It’s been six or seven years. I’m 19 about to be 20,” he said, also calling allegations any abuse happened when he was as young as 11 — the age his sister said he was when he allegedly started sleeping in the same bed as Caron — “crazy.”
He told the outlet he can’t speak with the child, while Caron has been ordered to have no contact with the teen. “I can’t talk to them. I wish I could but I can’t and it sucks,” he said, blaming his father for her arrest.
“All of this started with a Facebook post from my father. I didn’t want her violated like that,” he said, telling the publication he and his father are now estranged.
“The world has no idea what she has done for my family. I love her with all my heart. She was there for me and my family,” he added.
Laura Caron, 34, had taught the teen and his brother in the fifth grade at Middle Township Elementary School. The family struck up a friendship with the teacher, per court docs seen by ABC affiliate WPVI, with the boys’ parents allowing them and their sister to sleep over at her house a couple of nights a week at first.
The siblings allegedly moved in with her permanently in 2016, sharing a bedroom for four years. Caron gave birth to her baby in 2019, while the family’s kids were still living with her.
It all began to fall apart for Caron and the child, now 5 years old, when the student’s father started to notice uncanny physical similarities between the kid, himself and his son. He went public with what he observed on Facebook in December 2024.
Police quickly got involved and started investigating the matter, which included interviews with the family’s three children. The boy’s sister reportedly told them she believes her brother started sleeping in the same bed with Caron when he was 11 years old.
She told investigators that while she and her brothers went to bed in the same room on the second floor of Caron’s home, she would notice her brother was in Caron’s bed the following morning. Additionally, the sister said that when her brother was in the shower, Caron would go into the bathroom and lock the door.
The boy’s older brother also said that he witnessed Caron sexually assaulting his brother one night when they thought he was asleep, per the criminal complaint. Finally, the sister allegedly told police that her brother admitted to fathering the child in a text message to her, asking her to keep it a secret.
The unidentified student ultimately told police he had been involved in a sexual relationship with his former teacher, and fathered her child in 2019, per the court docs. He also said that he had remained in contact with her until his father’s Facebook post.
She could face 10 to 20 years in prison for the first-degree charge, and 5 to 10 years for the second-degree charges.
“When the district was first advised of the allegations, the staff member was immediately placed on and continues to be on paid administrative leave,” said Middle Township School District Superintendent Dr. David Salvo in a statement to CBS News after her arrest. He also said they are cooperating fully with the investigation.
“Teachers hold a position of great trust, and the allegations in this case represent a deeply troubling breach of that trust,” said prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland in his statement announcing Caron’s arrest. “We will work tirelessly to ensure justice is served and to support the victim and their family throughout this process.”
Caron’s attorney told Daily Mail there’s no evidence proving the child is related to the teen.
“And only after the arrest, they get search warrants for her DNA. They got the victim’s DNA, voluntarily from him, and they have a search warrant for my client’s five-year-old daughter for her DNA,” he told ABC 6. “And that will take months for that evidence, that biological evidence, to be obtained, sent to the lab, and processed.”
Caron is due back in court for a hearing on February 25; she was released on bail earlier this month.
The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline — 800.656.HOPE (4673) — provides free, 24/7 support for those in need.
