Freehold Twp. High School Substitute Teacher Had Sexual Relationship With Student: Prosecutor

Freehold, NJ — A substitute teacher at Freehold Township High School has been arrested on sexual assault charges, accused of having a sexual relationship with a student at the high school, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said Friday.

Daniel Kropa, 24, of Stonehurst Boulevard in Freehold, was arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, said Charles Webster, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

Kropa was released after posting $100,000 bail set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen. As a condition of bail, Kropa was ordered to have no contact with his victim, to not return to the high school, and to not have any unsupervised contact with children less than 18 years of age, Webster said.

Webster said Kropa was arrested after a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau and Freehold Township Police Department found that the inappropriate sexual conduct occurred over a period of several months with a student who is under the age of 18.

Details about the gender of the student and how the relationship came to light were not immediately available.

The charges of second-degree sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child each carry a potential five- to 10-year prison sentence if Kropa is convicted, along with Megan's Law registration and parole supervision for life requiring a minimum of 15 years of parole supervision following his release from prison, Webster said.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Thomas Fichter and Tara Wilson. Kropa is represented by Richard P. Lomurro of Freehold, Webster said.

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