MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Nearly a year after a Morris County teacher was arrested for sexually assaulting her student, an unnamed student has filed a civil suit against the school district.
Alyssa Perry, a 36-year-old former teacher at Morris Knolls High School, was arrested in June 2025 and charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. She took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Related: NJ Teacher Sexually Assaulted Student She Tutored In Her Home, Police Say
Perry was given a three-year suspended sentence and is subject to parole supervision for life. She was also forced to forfeit her teaching license and is to have no contact with the victim.
On April 28, the anonymous student victim filed a lawsuit against Perry and the Morris Hills School District Board of Education.
According to the complaint, the dynamic between Perry and the student began in the 2021-22 school year, when Perry taught the student math. Two years later, Perry supervised the student’s study hall, during which she engaged in “frequent and ongoing conversations” that “exceeded appropriate student-teacher boundaries,” the suit reads.
During that time, Perry began tutoring the 17-year-old and attending his sports games more often, the complaint says. Additionally, it says Perry and the student exchanged phone numbers and engaged in personal conversations.
Eventually, Perry stopped charging the student for the tutoring and moved the tutoring location from the local library to her home, the suit reads.
It was on Feb. 9, 2025, Super Bowl Sunday, when Perry invited the student to her home and sexually assaulted him, the suit reads. It adds that she would do the same thing two weeks later.
During this time, Perry provided the students with snacks, cash, marijuana, and other gifts, while continuing to express “a personal and sexual interest” with the student, according to the complaint.
It wasn’t until March 2025 that school officials from Morris Knolls High School reported what was deemed then as concerning behavior. The investigation was launched.
As the investigation unfolded, the student tried to distance himself from Perry, according to the suit. Despite this, Perry continued to try to contact the student, the suit says. The pursuit led the student to consider changing phone numbers, undergo stress and anxiety, and even leave his prom early, according to the complaint.
The abuse ceased in June once Perry was criminally charged, the suit reads.
Now, the student is claiming that Morris Hills school officials should have recognized that Perry’s behavior was predatory. It makes claims of negligence and failure to implement adequate child sex abuse policies.
It also names Perry, claiming sexual assault and battery, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“As a direct and proximate result of the intentional conduct of Perry, Plaintiff sustained severe and permanent injuries, including but not limited to pain, suffering, emotional distress, and psychological trauma and humiliation,” the suit reads.
"The district has no comment regarding pending litigation," Morris Hills Regional District Superintendent Nicholas J. Norcia told Patch.
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