Former Ocean City HS Teacher Arrested On Sexual Assault Charges

OCEAN CITY, NJ — A former Ocean City High School teacher was arrested on charges of sexual assault, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and Ocean City police said Monday.

Ricardo Valle, 34, of Seabrook, Texas, has been charged with second-degree sexual assault, second-degree official misconduct, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.

The charges came after a joint investigation conducted by the Ocean City Police Department and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, after it was reported that Valle allegedly sexually assaulted a student in 2016 while he was a teacher at the Ocean City High School.

Valle was arrested in Texas on Feb. 27, 2021 by the Seabrook Police Department and is currently lodged at the Harris County Jail, pending extradition hearings.

Valle is not currently a teacher at Ocean City High School, according to Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland.

The Ocean City School Board addressed the allegations against Valle in a letter to parents on Monday evening.

“This former employee has not taught in our district or lived in our community within the last 5 years, nor do these allegations involve a current staff member of any current students,” said school board president, Joseph Clark. “As we cooperate with their investigation efforts, the administration cannot release any specific information at this time.”

Clark said the administration will provide details to the school community when the information becomes public. Clark added that anyone with further questions should contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office.

Sutherland said this is an ongoing investigation and urges anyone who has additional information relating to this investigation to contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135, or the Ocean City Police Department at 609-525-9131, or report it anonymously through the Cape May County Sheriff’s tip line at cmcsheriff.net and click on anonymous tip.

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