Prosecutors say Jason D. Howe, 26, had sexual intercourse with a student at his Runnemede apartment in March and was arrested April 3.
SOMERDALE, N.J. — New Jersey authorities have charged a Sterling High School chemistry teacher and coach with sexual assault after investigators said he had sexual intercourse with a student at his Runnemede apartment in March, setting off a criminal case that has shaken a South Jersey school community.
The case has drawn intense attention because it centers on a teacher in a one-school public district and involves a student who authorities said was at least 16 but younger than 18. Prosecutors said Jason D. Howe remained in custody as of Thursday while he awaited a detention hearing next week. School officials said he has been suspended and barred from campus, while investigators said only one victim had been identified so far and that any additional allegations would be examined.
Camden County prosecutors said the case moved quickly once the report reached authorities. The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit was notified by police on Friday, April 3, after a female student reported what officials described as a sexual relationship with a teacher. Detectives then investigated and determined that Howe and the student had sexual intercourse at his apartment in Runnemede sometime in March, according to the public statement released Wednesday by Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay and Runnemede Police Chief William Sampolski. Howe, 26, was arrested the same day police received the report, officials said, and was taken to the Camden County Correctional Facility. By Wednesday afternoon, the prosecutor’s office had publicly identified him as a chemistry teacher at Sterling High School in Somerdale and said he had been charged with second-degree sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Officials have released only a narrow set of facts about what they say happened, and many details remain unclear. Public statements did not say whether the student was in Howe’s class, whether any of the alleged conduct took place on school grounds, or whether investigators recovered messages, photos or other records during the inquiry. Prosecutors also did not describe how long the alleged relationship lasted before the student came forward. What authorities have said is that the student was at least 16 and under 18, that the alleged sexual encounter took place at Howe’s apartment, and that only one victim had been identified as of Wednesday. The district said Howe was immediately suspended and banned from school property. NBC10, CBS Philadelphia and other local outlets reported that he was still being held Thursday while awaiting next week’s hearing. The prosecutor’s office said the investigation remains open and that any further allegations would be reviewed.
The arrest hit a school where Howe appeared to hold several visible roles. Sterling High School’s public staff pages listed him among the science teachers, and the athletics pages listed him with boys and girls cross-country. Local news reports said he also coached freshman boys basketball and assisted with girls spring track. District records show the board approved Howe as a full-time science teacher in May 2021, with a start date of Sept. 1 that year. Public education records describe Sterling as a single high school district serving grades 9 through 12 from its campus on South Warwick Road in Somerdale. A recent state school performance report listed enrollment at 860 students for the 2023-24 year. On Thursday, the district website showed the school was closed for spring recess, a detail that left much of the fallout playing out away from the classroom even as students, parents and staff absorbed news of the arrest.
The charges also place the case in a specific legal framework. Under New Jersey’s sexual assault law, a person can face a second-degree charge when the alleged victim is at least 16 but less than 18 and the accused has supervisory or disciplinary power over that person. Prosecutors have not laid out in public how they intend to prove that element beyond identifying Howe as the student’s teacher. If the case moves forward, the next immediate step is the detention hearing, where a judge will decide whether Howe remains jailed as the prosecution continues. No plea had been publicly reported by Thursday, and prosecutors had not announced an indictment. The endangering charge indicates the state is also alleging a breach of a duty tied to the care or protection of a minor. Beyond the criminal case, Howe’s suspension and ban from campus mean the district is treating the matter as an urgent student-safety issue while law enforcement and school officials proceed on separate tracks.
The reaction across the Sterling community mixed disbelief, anger and unease. Students who spoke to 6abc said they had not expected Howe to be the subject of such allegations. Senior Nick Gallucci told the station, “I was just really shocked,” while another senior, Nate Schwarz, said Howe had been both his teacher and coach and called the news hard to process. Superintendent Matthew Sheehan said in a statement that district officials had not known about the allegations before Howe’s arrest and added, “We will fully cooperate with law enforcement.” The station also reported that guidance counselors would be available to students. Some parents sounded a more wary note. One parent told 6abc there was a “culture” around Sterling High School that caused concern, though the parent did not explain further or point to a specific prior incident. That mix of surprise and suspicion underscored how little the public still knows and how deeply accusations involving educators can unsettle a school community, even before a case reaches court.
As of Thursday, Howe remained jailed, the district had removed him from school duties, and investigators said they had identified one victim. The next major milestone is a detention hearing expected next week in Camden County, where the case will move from the first wave of allegations into a more formal court process.
Author note: Last updated April 9, 2026.