Caldwell Woman, Ex-Teacher Accused Of Sex Crimes, Seeks Dismissal Of Charges: Gets Denied

A former Essex County teacher’s latest bid to have 40 counts of sexual assault dismissed has been denied, a report says.

Nicole Dufault, a Bloomfield native and Caldwell resident who was teaching at Columbia High School in Maplewood, is accused of engaging in sexual activity with six male students on multiple occasions between 2013 and 2014, some of which allegedly occurred on school property and in her car.

• See related article: Maplewood Teacher Charged With Sexually Assaulting 3 Students

On Monday, a Superior Court judge rejected Dufault’s motion for him to reconsider a previous ruling from Dec. 18 to dismiss the 40-count indictment issued against her, NJ.com reported.

• See related article: Accused Maplewood Teacher Seeks To Dismiss Sex Charges Involving 6 Male Teens

Dufault’s attorney had argued the charges should be thrown out because of a roughly two-month gap between when prosecutors provided legal instructions to the grand jurors and when they presented the facts about Dufault’s case to them, NJ.com stated.

In July of 2015, Dufault made headlines when her attorney proposed that the former teacher’s alleged sexual encounters were caused by a brain condition.

• See related article: Essex County Teacher Blames Brain Condition For Alleged Sex Crimes

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