Mendham Teacher Accused of Having Sex With Student Pleads Not Guilty

The Mendham High School teacher accused of having sex with an 18-year-old student in 2014 pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Superior Court in Morristown.

According to nj.com, Nicole McDonough put in a plea through her attorney, Timothy Smith, pleading guilty to one charge of official misconduct.

McDonough, 32, was arrested Dec. 30, 2014 after a joint investigation by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and Mendham Borough Police Department that accused the English teacher of having a three-day tryst with an 18-year-old student between May and June of last year.

While the student was 18 at the time of the alleged incidents, detectives said McDonough “constituted an unauthorized exercise of her official functions,” according to the report. She does not face any sex crime charges.

Smith told the court his client was not guilty and that she did not have sex with the student, according to the report.

McDonough taught English at West Morris Central High School from 2007 to 2011, and then from April 2013 to Dec. 30, 2014 at Mendham High School. In between she was away raising her children, according to her school district web page. She has been placed on paid leave by the school district.

An Early Disposition Conference is scheduled for Feb. 3, the report said.