Manchester Teacher Charged With Sexual Assault Of Student In 2012

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Manchester Township High School teacher has been charged with sexual assault, accused of having sex with a then-17-year-old female student in a high school bathroom on multiple occasions in 2012, according to court documents.

Ryan T. Ramsay, 45, who is a social studies teacher at the school and head coach of the boys basketball team, was arrested Friday. He is being held at the Monmouth County jail, according to jail records. He is charged with sexual assault of a minor ages 16-17 who he had supervisory authority over.

The matter is being handled by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office "in accordance with an assignment by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General," a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

"This is considered a police matter and, as you know, the Manchester Township School District cannot provide any comment or information regarding police or personnel matters," said Dina Silvestri, a spokeswoman for the Manchester Township Schools, in response to a request for comment. "As always, the Manchester Board of Education takes the safety and well-being of students as a top priority. The school district is committed to maintaining a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment where all students can learn and thrive."

It's not clear when the student, who's now about 30 years old, contacted authorities. She was interviewed by Detective Victoria Guarino of the Manchester Township Police Department and Detective Jason Apaza from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office on Feb. 7, according to the complaint.

She was a high school senior in 2012, and she and Ramsay, who was 32 at the time, began talking through the "Words with Friends" app, and the conversations turned flirtatious in January 2012, according to the complaint.

Ramsay had "sexual penetration" with the student for the first time on Feb. 15, 2012, and on multiple occasions in a bathroom at the high school and at Ramsay's apartment in Seaside Heights, where he lived at the time between until the end of the student's senior year, in June 2012, according to the complaint. The arrest record lists Ramsay as living at an address in the West Creek section of Eagleswood Township currently.

Several former classmates and siblings of classmates confirmed to authorities that they were aware in 2012 of the relationship between Ramsay and the student, according to the complaint.

Ramsay was hired by the Manchester Township Schools in 2004.

Note: This has been updated with comment from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.