NJ teacher gets 14 years for sexually assaulting 6th grade student

🚨 A Bridgeton teacher was sentenced to prison after his conviction of sexually assaulting a sixth-grader.

⚖️ Prosecutors say the former head teacher also tried to bribe the victim to lie once investigators opened the case.

⛓️ The judge ordered the teacher to serve nearly a decade before parole eligibility.

A Cumberland County teacher has been sent to prison for more than a decade after being convicted of sexually assaulting a young student.

On Friday, Isaias Garza, of Vineland, was sentenced to a total of 14 years by Superior Court Judge Niki Arbittier.

The aggregate term was seven years each for second-degree counts of sexual assault and witness tampering/bribery.

Vineland teacher convicted of sexually assaulting sixth-grade student

In October, the 57-year-old Garza was found guilty by a Cumberland County jury of sexually assaulting a sixth-grade student multiple times between 2004 and 2005.

The victim was a student at the ExCEL school in Bridgeton, where Garza was the head teacher at the time of the repeated sexual abuse.

Read More: Freehold teacher admits sex assault of student, faces prison 

Investigation opened years later leads to witness tampering charge

Once an investigation was underway in 2018, Garza tampered with the victim by offering him money and other benefits to lie to officers from the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, Bridgeton Police, and State Police.

Of his prison term, Garza must serve about nine and a half years before being eligible for parole.

He would also be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and would remain under parole supervision.