Abuse victims of 'monster' NJ teacher win millions

⚠️ Seven former students received settlements tied to abuse by a former Cumberland County teacher.

➡️ The Lawrence Township School District and its insurer have paid more than $3 million since 2015.

🔴 Two additional lawsuits from former students remain pending against the district.

LAWRENCE (Cumberland) — Seven students abused years ago by their teacher at a Cedarville school have won millions in court.

Derek Hildreth taught for 23 years at Myron L. Powell Elementary School in Cedarville, which serves fewer than 500 students from pre-K through 8th grade. He was a 7th and 8th-grade social studies teacher, a coach, and a student advisor. According to multiple lawsuits, prosecutors, and himself, Hildreth was also a child predator.

In 2013, Hildreth pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of child endangerment. Then, in 2020, while he was in prison, another count of child endangerment was added to his rap sheet for an offense 10 years earlier.

Teacher admitted using school position to gain access to victims

Cumberland County prosecutors said he molested children in Cumberland, Burlington, Atlantic and Gloucester counties. During sentencing in Superior Court, Hildreth admitted that he "planned it from the beginning" to use his position for access to the boys, according to records obtained by TransparencyNJ.

“I failed, that I am a monster, and that I need to be, you know, sent away for help and therapy," Hildreth said.

Now 63 years old, Hildreth is being held in Avenel at the New Jersey Adult Diagnostic Treatment Center, a special facility for compulsive sex offenders. His maximum release date on his prison sentence is May 25, 2028. However, there's no guarantee that's the day he gets out. The ADTC uniquely offers therapy to rehabilitate sex offenders, who must receive approval from their therapists and multiple panels for release.

School district settlements top $3 million

Since 2015, the Lawrence Township School District and its insurer have paid out more than $3 million to Hildreth's victims. The agreements were not public until a judge ordered the district to release them in response to a lawsuit from TransparencyNJ's John Paff. Two more lawsuits from former students are pending.

In July 2025, the district reached its largest settlement as one former student was paid $1.25 million. Six other students each received settlements ranging from $250,000 to $400,000.

Recent Camden County case produced a similar payout

Payouts for most of Hildreth's victims are similar to a recent case in Camden County between the Berlin Township School District and a female student.

The girl was 15 years old when a male peer sexually harassed her and other eighth-grade girls at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School from 2021 to 2023, the girl claimed in court documents. The boy touched their breasts, butts, and inner thighs without any serious repercussions or interventions, the girl said.

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Nine parents spoke at a May 26, 2022 school board meeting about their daughters' experiences. At the time, three students and a father told NBC 10 Philadelphia that it seemed like the male student had gotten away with the sexual harassment.

The girl who filed the suit received a $300,000 settlement, with $105,000 going to her attorney. The district's insurer paid the funds.

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