Elementary school teacher Laura Caron allegedly sexually abused one of her students and gave birth to his baby.
Online reports indicate that Laura was born in 1991. Growing up, she attended Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Pennsylvania.
Laura obtained her teaching degree from Cabrini University in Pennsylvania. She was active on the women’s basketball team during her time there. The university was absorbed by its neighbor Villanova University in 2024.
Laura began working as a 5th grade teacher at the Middle Township Elementary School in New Jersey.
Laura is alleged to have groomed and molested a child between 2016 and 2020. She would have been around 25 in 2016.
Laura had access to the child involved after she and his mother became close friends. The mother trusted Laura and began “to let the children stay at Caron’s residence and she would take them to school”.
According to the criminal complaint, Laura would buy gifts for the victim.
The victim’s father told police that “it began with one or two nights a week and eventually the children stayed with Laura permanently, from 2016 to 2020.”
There have been lots of questions about this situation and why the parents allowed the children to live with Laura. We are not sure yet. During her first court appearance, Laura was said to be a ‘resource family parent’ for the children.
In New Jersey, the term Foster Parent has been replaced with Resource Parent. This term more accurately reflects the Resource Parent’s supportive role to the children, the children’s family, and the professional team. The Resource Parent serves a critical role in supporting reunification efforts (the primary goal for most children entering out-of-home care).
We need passionate, committed individuals/families like YOU who can offer loving guidance and support to children while their birth family mends.
Laura gave birth to a daughter who was 5 at the end of 2024. The child was born in 2019 when the victim was 13 years old.
The allegations of Laura’s crimes first emerged in the public in 2024. On December 12, 2024, the victims’ father made social media posts indicating that Laura’s daughter resembled his own son.
Following the post, the Middle Township Schools Superintendent Dr David Salvo reported to Middle Township police officer Thomas Runyon that he received an anonymous tip regarding a teacher who may have had a sexual relationship with a student, as per the criminal complaint – the teacher was identified as Laura through the Facebook post.
Police began investigating and found out that the victim had told his brother that he was the father of Laura’s baby. The mother of the victim also told police that her son had admitted to her via text that he was the father of the baby but demanded that she keep it a secret so that Laura would not ‘get in trouble.’
You can view an old Facebook account of Laura’s here:
The victims’ sister spoke to police and said that she believed her brother was aged 11 when he first started sleeping at Laura’s home.
The sister told police that Laura would follow her brother to the bathroom and would ‘lock the door.’
Another sibling told police that he would see Laura and the victim “exiting the 1st-floor bathroom together, both wearing towels and wet.”
The sister also said that she and her siblings would sleep in a shared bedroom, but her brother would often not be in his bed the following morning. He would often sleep in Laura’s bed.
The victims’ younger brother said that one night he pretended to be sleeping and he watched Laura, who was 26 then, molest his brother who was 11. They were on a reclining chair watching a movie with a blanket over them.
After Laura’s baby was born, the victim began permanently sleeping in Laura’s room and kept his clothes in her dresser.
Dr Salvo has issued the following statement to The Independent: “When the district was first advised of the allegations, the staff member was immediately placed on and continues to be on paid administrative leave. Additional questions should be directed to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office.”
On January 21, a judge ruled that Laura could be released from jail as her case goes ahead.
In court, Judge Christopher Gibson found her not to be a flight risk and had a low risk to re-offend.
Along with permitting her to be released from custody, the judge ordered Laura to have no contact with the alleged victim or his family.
She is scheduled to return to court for another hearing in this case on Feb. 25, 2025.
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