Elementary Teacher Had Child with 13-Year-Old Former Student Who Lived with Her: Prosecutor

The student, who was born in 2005 and 13 years old at the time the then 28-year-old suspect was impregnated, lived with her from 2016 to 2020, according to a press release from the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office, alongside his brother and sister.

Laura Caron, 34, had taught both brothers in the fifth grade at Middle Township Elementary School. The family struck up a friendship with the teacher, per ABC affiliate WPVI, with the boys' parents allowing them and their sister to sleep over at her house a couple of nights a week at first.

Then the siblings moved in with her permanently in 2016, sharing a bedroom for four years. Caron gave birth to her baby in 2019, while the family's kids were still living with her. It would be five more years before the alleged truth would be uncovered.

It all began to fall apart for the parents of Caron's child, now 5 years old, when the student's father started to notice uncanny physical similarities between the child, himself and his son. He went public with what he observed on Facebook in December 2024.

Police quickly got involved and started investigating the matter, which included interviews with the family's three children. The boy's sister reportedly told them she believes her brother started sleeping in the same bed with Caron when he was 11 years old, per the prosecutor's press release.

She told investigators that while she and her brothers went to bed in the same room on the second floor of Caron's home, she would notice her brother was in Caron's bed the following morning. Additionally, the sister said that when her brother was in the shower, Caron would go into the bathroom and lock the door.

The boy's older brother said that he witnessed Caron sexually assaulting his brother one night when they thought he was asleep, per the release. Finally, the sister told police that her brother admitted to fathering the child in a text message to her, asking her to keep it a secret.

The unidentified student, who is now 19 or 20 years old, ultimately told police he had been involved in a sexual relationship with his former teacher, and fathered her child in 2019. He also said that he had remained in contact with her until his father's Facebook post.

Caron was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

She is being held at the Cape May County Correctional Facility without bond, per The New York Post, pending her first court appearance. According to the press release, she could face 10 to 20 years in prison for the first-degree charge, and 5 to 10 years for the second-degree charges.

"When the district was first advised of the allegations, the staff member was immediately placed on and continues to be on paid administrative leave," said Middle Township School District Superintendent Dr. David Salvo in a statement to CBS News. He also said they are cooperating fully with the investigation.

"Teachers hold a position of great trust, and the allegations in this case represent a deeply troubling breach of that trust," said prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland in his statement announcing Caron's arrest. "We will work tirelessly to ensure justice is served and to support the victim and their family throughout this process."

The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline -- 800.656.HOPE (4673) -- provides free, 24/7 support for those in need.