📚 Trusted To Teach. Sentenced To 10 Years.

A former English teacher is headed to prison after admitting she sexually abused two of her students over a period of years.

Julie Rizzitello, 37, of Brick Township, was sentenced to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison in Monmouth County Superior Court. In addition to the prison term, she will face Parole Supervision for Life, must register under Megan’s Law, is permanently barred from contacting the victims, and has forfeited her teaching career.

Prosecutors say she met one victim as a freshman and the other as a junior. What began as one-on-one “friendly” interactions escalated into months of sexual activity.

Authorities determined the abuse occurred:

• At her home in Brick Township

• Inside a vehicle parked in Wall Township

• At a Belmar bagel shop owned by her family, where both students worked at her suggestion

Investigators say that while the case was active, she contacted both victims and asked them to delete evidence from their devices.

Rizzitello was arrested in July 2024 and pleaded guilty in August 2025 to two counts of second-degree sexual assault.

At sentencing, the judge ruled that four aggravating factors outweighed one mitigating factor, rejecting a defense request to cut the sentence in half. A victim impact statement was cited before the 10-year term was finalized.

She will now serve the full sentence under the court’s conditions.

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