In the Matter of T.W.

CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedJune 16, 2025
DocketA-3465-23
StatusUnpublished

This text of In the Matter of T.W. (In the Matter of T.W.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Matter of T.W., (N.J. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

RECORD IMPOUNDED

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-3465-23

IN THE MATTER OF T.W. ____________________

Submitted June 5, 2025 – Decided June 16, 2025

Before Judges Natali and Vinci.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County, Docket No. ML-07-05-0078.

Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo, LLC, and Jeff Thakker, attorneys for appellant T.W. (Jeff Thakker, of counsel; Todd D. Palumbo, on the briefs).

Theodore N. Stephens II, Essex County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent State of New Jersey (Shep A. Gerszberg, Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief).

PER CURIAM

Registrant T.W.1 appeals from a June 6, 2024 order classifying him as a

Tier II (moderate risk) sex offender subject to Tier III (high risk) notification

1 We use initials to preserve the confidentiality of records related to child victims of sexual assault or abuse. R. 1:38-3(c)(9). pursuant to the registration and community notification provisions of Megan's

Law, N.J.S.A. 2C:7-1 to -23. We affirm.

The State alleges T.W. has an extensive history of criminal sexual conduct

dating back to the mid-1980s. He previously held positions as a boys baseball

coach, junior high and high school teacher, and professor at a community

college, and used those positions of authority and trust to gain access to young,

male victims.

In 2013, M.D., who was born in October 1975, reported to law

enforcement in Georgia, where he lived at the time, that T.W. befriended his

family when he was a child in Hawthorne, and groomed him by giving him gifts.

T.W. performed oral sex on M.D. and engaged in sexual contact with him when

M.D. was ten to sixteen or seventeen years old, from 1985 through 1991. T.W.

admits he "had sex with" M.D. "[i]n the 1980s," but contends M.D. "was

[sixteen], being the legal age of consent for sexual activity."

On February 11, 2013, law enforcement received a report from Paterson

school officials regarding T.W., who was then a high school teacher, engaging

in inappropriate contact with two students. M.G., who was then seventeen years

old, reported T.W. would stop him in the school hallway, offer him candy and

money in exchange for his phone number, and asked him to go to dinner.

A-3465-23 2 On February 8, 2013, T.W. sent M.G. a message saying he "remind[ed

him] of some Dominican children that when [T.W. would] go to the Dominican

Republic and for money they put something sweet in their throat and . . . it hurt[]

them." In another message, T.W. said he wanted to perform oral sex on M.G.

for fifty dollars. On February 23, 2013, T.W. sent M.G. a message arranging to

meet him at a fast food restaurant that evening. T.W. was arrested in his car

while waiting to meet M.G.

D.L., who was nineteen years old, reported T.W. would give him money

and repeatedly gave him his personal phone number. On February 8, 2013, T.W.

sent him a message stating he "want[ed D.L.] and [his] milk for [forty dollars]."

A subsequent police investigation revealed additional child victims. In

2013, E.T. was sixteen years old. T.W. was previously his seventh-grade

teacher. On February 16, 2013, T.W. saw E.T. on Pennington Street in Paterson

and stopped him. After they exchanged phone numbers, T.W. handed him forty-

five dollars and said he knew they could "have a great relationship." T.W. texted

E.T. later that he "looked great, . . . but [he] still d[id not] have [E.T.'s] c[**]k

in [his] throat." T.W. offered forty dollars to perform oral sex on E.T.

W.C. was thirteen years old in 2013. T.W. was previously his seventh-

grade teacher. On February 10, 2013, T.W. saw W.C. on Market Street in

A-3465-23 3 Paterson and stopped him. At the end of their conversation, T.W. gave him five

dollars and squeezed W.C.'s buttocks. T.W. later sent W.C. messages offering

money if W.C. would send him shirtless pictures and allow T.W. to perform oral

sex on him. T.W. told W.C. he would "suck [him] all day."

J.C. was fifteen years old in 2013. T.W. was previously his seventh-grade

teacher. In 2011, he encountered T.W. while on winter break. T.W. told him

he looked good and that "if [J.C.] liked [twenties] in his pockets[,] then he had

to keep seeing him." They met several times. On one occasion, T.W. offered

J.C. twenty dollars to "go out to eat and hang out with him at his home." T.W.

drove J.C. to his apartment, where T.W. "went into the kitchen to take off his

pants" and told J.C. to sit down and relax. While they were sitting on a couch

watching television, T.W. began to massage J.C.'s shoulder. J.C. left the

apartment.

On September 17, 2013, T.W. was indicted for: first-degree aggravated

sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a)(1); two counts of second-degree sexual

assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(b) and 2C:14-2(c)(4); second-degree luring or

enticing a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:13-6; second-degree endangering the welfare of

child by a caretaker, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4(a); third-degree endangering the welfare

of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4(a); second-degree attempted sexual assault,

A-3465-23 4 N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 and 2C:14-2(c)(3)(b); second-degree attempted endangering the

welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 and 2C:24-4(a); four counts of second-degree

promoting child prostitution, N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1(b)(3); four counts of third-

degree compelling another to engage in prostitution, N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1(b)(5);

and second-degree official misconduct, N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2A (the 2013

indictment). T.W. pleaded guilty to: third-degree attempted endangering the

welfare of a child (M.G.), N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 and 24-4(a)(1); third-degree

endangering the welfare of a child (W.C.); and third-degree compelling another

to engage in prostitution (E.T.), N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1(b)(5).

On December 7, 2018, T.W. was sentenced to three years to be served at

the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment center for sex offenders (Avenel) following

a determination that his criminal conduct was repetitive and compulsive in

nature. His sentence included sexual offender registration and notification

requirements pursuant to Megan's Law, and a special sentence of parole

supervision for life, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4. He was ordered to surrender his New

Jersey teaching license and "not have any unsupervised contact with anyone

under the age of [eighteen] years old."

T.W. was previously charged with similar offenses on two occasions. In

September 2003, he was charged with criminal sexual contact and endangering

A-3465-23 5 the welfare of a child after C.S., age fourteen, reported T.W., who was a teacher

at his middle school in Paterson, touched him inappropriately at school and

while giving him a ride to a Little League baseball game in his car. C.S. alleged

T.W. told him he loved him and wanted to do things to him he had never done

with anybody else. C.S.'s mother did not want to pursue the charges, and a grand

jury declined to indict him.

On July 29, 2004, T.W. was indicted for criminal sexual contact upon

J.M., who was a student of T.W.'s at a local community college. J.M. alleged

T.W.

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