Kittatinny High reeling from sex charges

Hampton - The healing has begun at Kittatinny Regional High School, more than a week after a respected teacher was charged with sexually inappropriate behavior with a student. James Cunneely, 30, taught all four levels of French, was assistant coach of the girls’ junior varsity soccer team and advised the National Honor Society, putting him in contact with many students, according to Superintendent of Schools, Robert Walker. His middle-of-the-night arrest on Monday, Feb. 5 set the school’s emergency planning into action, Walker added. The superintendent said he received a call at midnight about the arrest and had a team at the school by 6:45 that morning, as well as the entire staff by 7:15 a.m., to best understand how to talk with the students about the crisis. Cunneely was arrested after word came to Walker that the teacher was involved with a young student. Walker notified the State Police and Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, and within 15 hours they had evidence on which to arrest him. Walker said the school arranged for parents to pick up the witnesses at school so no one would be seen leaving the building with police. Walker was encouraged that State Police Detective Donald Peter was involved in the investigation because he is a Kittatinny alumnus and it made some of the students feel more comfortable. Court papers indicated there were more than a dozen encounters between Cunneely and the 15-year-old between September and Sunday, Feb. 4. The affair surfaced when three students informed a teacher who contacted the superintendent. The student involved, a sophomore, had apparently first divulged the relationship to someone just before Halloween, but no teachers knew about it until Feb. 5. Cunneely is married and has three young children. He taught as Kittatinny for seven years before his suspension without pay last week. He was also an adjunct professor of Spanish at Sussex County Community College, a position from which he was also suspended. Walker said Cunneely was a respected teacher and coach. Considered an excellent teacher by students and his peers, he was the school’s Teacher of the Year in 2005. He was considered an encouraging and talented coach as well, the superintendent said. The high school library was set aside for students to talk to teachers and counselors about what happened. By the middle of the day on Feb. 6 students were back in their classrooms, although there were still adults available for them to talk to if need be. On Wednesday, Feb. 7, the school seemed almost normal, but when the affidavit was released Thursday, Feb. 8, many of the students became upset all over again, Walker said. He explained that because Kittatinny isn’t a huge school, most of the students know each other and details included in the affidavit made it nearly impossible not to figure out exactly who the victim and witnesses were. He said he wished a judge had reviewed the affidavit prior to its release to the media because it might have then been sealed. Walker noted names and other details were blacked out of the released copies, but plenty of information remained to distress the students. “The affidavit was pretty graphic and it identified things pertinent to the minor and to the witnesses,” he said in a telephone interview. “It reduced the kids’ hope that there might be an error and released a host of feelings among the students.” Walker said he wants to make sure the student doesn’t feel she was victimized twice. “She was under the influence of a powerful figure,” he noted. By Friday, the French classes were moved to another classroom so as not to be a reminder for the students. Other teachers increased their course load to take over the French classes. No one will be hired from the outside which might be disruptive again, Walker said. He praised his teachers for immediately agreeing to change and enlarge work loads. Cunneely is lodged in the Sussex County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail. Assistant Prosecutor Robert Klingenburg said a psychosexual evaluation would be completed and reviewed by the court before he could be released on bail. Defense attorney Damiano Fracasso said Cunneely agreed to the evaluation and is prepared to post bail when it is complete. Cunneely was charged with first degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, second degree endangering the welfare of a child and third degree aggravated criminal sexual contact. If convicted on these charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison.