Newark Prep School Dean Accused Of ‘Attempted Luring’

NEWARK, NJ — A school administrator in Newark was arrested after he allegedly arranged to meet a person he believed to be a teenager for sex in Hudson County, authorities announced Thursday.

The allegations against Didier Jean-Baptiste, 54, of Jersey City, do not involve any students, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Jean-Baptiste was employed as a high school dean of seniors at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark. He was recently fired for what school administrators said was “inappropriate conduct,” News 12 Long Island reported.

Prosecutors released the following statement about the allegations:

“On Thursday, October 6, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Harrison Police Department arrested a high school dean of seniors after being notified of an attempted luring incident … The investigation determined Jean-Baptiste, a dean at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, arranged to meet an individual, who he believed to be a teenager, for sex in Harrison. The crimes did not involve any students.”

Police arrested Jean-Baptiste without incident at his home in Jersey City. He was transported to the Harrison Police Department and released on a summons based on the recommendation of a risk assessment tool, prosecutors said.

Jean-Baptiste has been charged with one count of Luring by Attempt in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:13-6a, a crime of the second degree, and Attempted Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 and 2C:24-4a(1), a crime of the third degree.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 24, prosecutors said.

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