MIDDLE TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY — A former fifth-grade teacher has pleaded guilty to second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in a case involving a boy who was first her student at age 11. Laura Caron, 36, agreed to a five-year state prison sentence in a plea deal with prosecutors. Prosecutors say the abuse went on for four years and led to the birth of a child in 2019, when the boy was 13. Under the deal, Caron must give up her teaching license and is barred from all future public employment.
Student Moved Into Teacher’s Home, Prosecutors Say
According to prosecutors, Caron first met the boy when he was a student in her fifth-grade classroom. She was also friends with his family and arranged for him to stay at her house. Over time, that arrangement grew until the student was living with her full-time, prosecutors said, before police stepped in.
Prosecutors said the sexual abuse began in 2016 and continued for about four years. During that time, Caron gave birth to a child in 2019. Prosecutors said the boy, who was only 13 when the child was born, is the father. They said the abuse continued after the birth until authorities got involved.
Facebook Post About a 5-Year-Old Sparked the Investigation
The case stayed hidden for years until 2024, when the victim’s father posted on Facebook that Caron’s 5-year-old child looked like his son. The school superintendent saw the post and flagged it, which started a formal investigation into the former teacher.
When detectives interviewed the victim, he confirmed the abuse and told them he was the father of Caron’s child. Caron was first charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Those charges covered abuse that prosecutors said began while the victim was still an elementary school student in her class. Investigators built the case largely on the victim’s own account of what happened over the years.
Prosecutors Estimated More Than 400 Instances of Abuse
At a detention hearing in 2025, prosecutors told the court they had worked out the number of assaults from interviews with the victim. Their estimate put the total at 416 times over the four-year period. The count was based on the victim’s description of how often the abuse happened while he lived with her.
The case has drawn wide attention because of the trust placed in teachers, Caron’s close ties to the boy’s family, and how young the victim was when the abuse began. Prosecutors have not publicly identified the victim, who is now an adult. The guilty plea means the case will be resolved without a trial.
Five-Year Prison Term and Lifetime Parole Supervision
Prosecutors announced the plea in a press release, saying Caron agreed to serve five years in state prison. Before her sentence begins, she will have an evaluation to determine whether her conduct was “repetitive and/or compulsive.” Prosecutors said the result could affect the sentence she ends up serving. Second-degree endangering is among the more serious charges of its kind under New Jersey law.
After her prison term, Caron must register under Megan’s Law, New Jersey’s sex offender registry. She will also be under parole supervision for the rest of her life. Combined with the loss of her teaching license and the ban on public employment, these terms mean she can never work in a public school again.
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