Ex-Monmouth Regional Teacher Gets 5 Years For Sex With 2 Students: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD, NJ -- An Ocean County man has been sentenced to two five-year jail terms for having sexual relationships with two of his students at a Monmouth County high school, according to a report.

Nicholas DePue, 30, of Brick, was sentenced to serve the two prison terms concurrently after Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley sentenced him on two counts of endangering the welfare of minors, said Charles Webster, spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

DePue had pleaded guilty to the charges in January as part of a plea agreement.

DePue, who lived in Jackson Township at the time of his arrest, was a biology teacher at Monmouth Regional High School, Tinton Falls, at the time. His listing in the staff directory and his class page -- later removed -- said he taught honors biology at the high school, where he had been employed for two years. DePue has a biology degree from William Paterson University and had worked as a tutor for Ocean County College’s science and math departments through their Student Support Services. “I also taught martial arts, sports, and gymnastics for a gymnastics school in Manasquan,” he wrote on the page.

DePue was fired after his arrest in connection with one relationship; a second girl came forward later.

He surrendered his teaching license Friday, according to an Asbury Park Press report on the sentencing.

Upon his release from prison, DePue will be subject to the provisions of Megan’s Law as well as parole supervision for life as part of the sentenced handed out by Oxley, Webster said.