Prosecutor: Toms River, NJ, Teacher Posts Nudes to Twitter, Students See Them
Authorities in Ocean County say a 48-year-old teacher has been suspended and charged with official misconduct and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, on April 23rd, 48-year-old Kyle Banner of Brick Township, a teacher at both Toms River Intermediate North and Ocean County College, posted pornographic pictures of himself on his public Twitter profile.
The next day, he was suspended from his teaching position without pay.
A thorough investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, "determined that students had viewed the pornographic images by accessing Banner’s public Twitter profile. Further investigation revealed that the photographs were taken in his classroom at Toms River Intermediate North."
During the course of the investigation, detectives also discovered that Banner sent inappropriate pictures of himself to a student via Snapchat back in October, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.
Detectives also recovered numerous images of Banner engaging in sexual conduct with himself in his classroom at Toms River Intermediate North.
On Tuesday, Banner surrendered at the Toms River Township Police Department where he was processed and then taken to the Ocean County Jail, where he is being held pending a detention hearing.
Billhimer said in a statement,
I would encourage parents to have a conversation with their children if they had this defendant as a teacher. If anyone has additional information regarding this investigation, please contact Detective Graham Borg of the Toms River Township Police Department at 732-349-0150, or Detective Stephanie Bayha of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, extension 3861.
The public is reminded that charges are accusations and all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.