A 36-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to second-degree endangering the welfare of a child with sexual conduct. The former teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a student and having his baby.
Laura Caron gave birth to a child fathered by her 13-year-old former pupil. The secret was kept hidden until the boy’s father spotted a resemblance in a Facebook photo.
Ms Caron entered a guilty plea to second degree endangering the welfare of a child with sexual conduct, according to Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H Sutherland.
The former educator faces five years in state prison under a plea agreement. She initially encountered the boy while teaching him and his brother at Middle Township Elementary School in Cape May Court House.
The family developed a close bond with Ms Caron and permitted their sons and daughter to stay at her residence several nights weekly, the New York Post reports.
Prosecutors allege the teacher engaged in “inappropriate sexual relations” with her former student in a relationship that commenced when he was just 11 years old in 2016 and continued until he reached 15.
Ms Caron fell pregnant when the boy was 13 and delivered their daughter in 2019, maintaining the secret for years. She was 27-years-old at the time.
In December 2024 the boy’s father observed a striking resemblance between Ms Caron’s child, himself and his son in a Facebook photograph.
Authorities revealed disturbing details including claims that the victim’s brother once observed Ms Caron sexually assaulting his sleeping sibling.
The victim has spoken in Ms Caron’s defence and stated he was the one who “made the first move” in the alleged sexual relationship.
“They need to drop all charges. I wasn’t groomed or raped or manipulated by her. She never initiated anything,” he told the Daily Mail.
“I started everything. If it was up to me she wouldn’t have been in jail.”
Ms Caron faced charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child in January this year.
Caron must also relinquish her teaching licence and all future public employment.
She will also undergo an assessment to establish whether her conduct is repetitive or compulsive, a determination that could influence her sentencing.
