N.J. Teacher Guilty of Sex With Student Avoids Jail
HACKENSACK, N.J. -- A teacher who had a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old student was sentenced to probation instead of jail by a judge who said something had just “clicked” between the two.
Pamela Diehl-Moore, 43, was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to sexual assault in January. Prosecutors had expected Diehl-Moore to be sentenced to three years in prison.
“We are talking about a sexual assault of a little boy,” prosecutor Martin Delaney said. “We need to send a message to these people that this is unacceptable and you will pay with your liberty.”
Superior Court Judge Bruce Gaeta disagreed, saying people mature at different rates.
“It’s just something between two people that clicked beyond the teacher-student relationship,” Gaeta said Wednesday. “Certainly society doesn’t need to be worried.”
Republican state Rep. Rose Heck called the sentence “shocking and unacceptable.”
“Does that mean that he believes there should be no law against adults having sex with minors? If so, I would suggest it is time for this judge to be removed from the bench,” Heck said Thursday.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
