Crime & Safety
School Band Director Accused Of Sex Crimes Against Bergen County Student: Prosecutors
A former band director at a Bergen County school was charged Friday with criminal sexual contact for alleged crimes against a student.
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A former band director in a Bergen County school district has been accused of aggravated sexual contact against a student between ages 13 and 17, while on school grounds, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.
Kurt Zimmermann of Rockaway, NJ, 55 — identified as a married teacher and band director — has been charged with aggravated sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.
On Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit was contacted by the Hopatcong Police Department regarding alleged sexual conduct between a teacher and a student in Westwood, NJ, the Prosecutor's Office said.
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An 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," prosecutors said Friday.
"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," prosecutors said.
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A LinkedIn profile indicates that Zimmermann is currently employed by a different district and worked in Westwood years ago.
Zimmerman was arrested in Paramus on Friday morning and charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact in addition to the second-degree endangering charge.
He was taken to the Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
The investigation, led by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, is ongoing, prosecutors said. Anyone with additional information about this case is encouraged to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at (201) 226-5532.
The accusation came on the heels of the arrest last week of another teacher accused of sex crimes against a student, allegedly committed at a Bergen County middle school. Read that story here: Bergen Co. Middle School Teacher Charged With Sexual Assault
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