Former Essex County Teacher Pleads Guilty, Had Sex With Students

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A former teacher in Essex County accused of having sex with her students has pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Nicole Dufault, 40, a former teacher at Columbia High School in Maplewood, entered her guilty plea as jury selection was underway, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office stated.

Prosecutors previously said that Dufault – a Bloomfield native who lived in Caldwell at the time – engaged in sexual activity with six boys on multiple occasions between 2013 and 2014, some of which allegedly occurred on school property and in her car.

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Dufault worked as a language arts teacher at Columbia High School for nine years. She also taught at other public schools in Passaic and Bergen counties, according to prosecutors, who didn’t name those schools in Thursday’s announcement.

In 2015, Dufault claimed that a brain condition affected her judgment. Her attorney told NJ.com that his client "suffers from frontal lobe syndrome which has rendered her defenseless to over-aggressive behavior… and that is exactly what she was exposed to."

• See related article: Essex County Teacher Blames Brain Condition For Alleged Sex Crimes
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As part of the plea agreement, Dufault must forfeit her government employment, give up her teaching licenses, register as a sex offender pursuant to Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life, prosecutors said.

Dufault is scheduled to be sentenced on June 8. Prosecutors said the state will recommend that she be sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison.

“We believe this is an appropriate resolution,” Assistant Prosecutor Eric Plant said.

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