East Side High School Teacher Accused of Sexual Affair with a Student

An East Side High School teacher stands accused of having a sexual affair with one of his 17-year-old students after the suspect turned himself in to police, according to Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray.

Murray announced Friday that police arrested Abelardo Romero, 28, on nine counts sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and other charges. He is being held on $150,000 bail.

Romero, who has been teaching mathematics at the school since the 2011-12 school year, is no longer employed with the district, a statement read.

“After confirmation with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Adelardo Romero, a non-tenured mathematics teacher at Eastside’s School of Information Technology, will be terminated effective today for conduct unbecoming a staff member,” district spokeswoman Terry Corallo said.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Romero previously taught math at Montclair State University and DeVry Tech. The profile also claims he was attending Montclair State for his master’s in applied mathematics.