New Sex Crime Charges Against School Band Director In Bergen County

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A former school band director, arrested last month for sex crimes against a student, was just charged with new offenses, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Kurt Zimmermann, 55, of Rockaway, has now been charged with three more counts of sexual assault because he "engaged in sexual conduct with a juvenile student who was at least 16 years of age but under the age of 18. The sexual conduct occurred in the past," prosecutors said in a release on Thursday.

As reported last month, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victim’s Unit was contacted in January 2024 by the Hopatcong Police Department regarding alleged sexual conduct between a teacher and a student in Westwood. Zimmermann had taught there years ago.

The investigation determined that Zimmermann, "while previously employed by the Westwood Regional School District as the director of bands, engaged in sexual conduct with a juvenile student between the ages of 13 and 17 on more than one occasion. The sexual conduct, which occurred in the past, was determined to have taken place at Westwood Regional Middle School in Westwood and at Westwood Regional High School in Washington Township."

The investigation later revealed a second victim, prosecutors said.

Zimmermann was arrested in Rockaway on Wednesday on the new charges.

He was taken to the Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.

READ MORE: Band Director Accused Of Sex Crimes Against Student: Bergen Prosecutor