Former High School teacher

Former high school teacher and coach is sentenced

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan announced today that a former North Brunswick High School history teacher, who also coached the girls’ soccer team at the school, has been sentenced to three years in a New Jersey state prison for improperly touching a 17-year-old female student.

Matthew Engelson, (DOB 12/29/76) a Cherry Hill resident who previously lived in Lawrenceville, was sentenced Friday, January, 30, 2009, by Superior Court Judge Dennis Nieves during a hearing in the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick.

In addition to imposing the prison term, the judge required Engelson to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, and ordered him to undergo parole supervision for the rest of his life. Engelson, who surrendered his teaching certificate, also must avoid any contact with the victim and her family.

He was sentenced after he waived trial and pleaded guilty on September 26, 2008, to a count of endangering the welfare of a child. The plea agreement was negotiated with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Sheree Pitchford.

At the plea hearing, Engelson admitted fondling the girl on December 8, 2007, in South Brunswick.