When authorities this week accused an assistant coach at Park Ridge High School of sexually assaulting a student, it added to a growing roster of more than two dozen cases in North Jersey over the last three years in which teachers, coaches and school officials have been arrested or convicted on charges of sexual misconduct involving children in their care.
The arrest of John D. Rankin, who was charged Wednesday with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, adds to “an alarming increase in the number of reported incidents,” said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. And with the new school year beginning next week in most districts, Molinelli said, “It’s a fair thing to say to educators: No matter how old the student may be, there is never an excuse for this and the consequences are serious.”
Rankin’s arrest is the second this year of a Park Ridge school employee accused of having an improper relationship with a student. A 27-year-old math teacher at the high school was accused in January of having sex with a student in her junior and senior year of high school. Since December, a dozen teachers or coaches statewide have made headlines for sexually related accusations. Among other instances, educators were accused of videotaping boys showering and of having sex with teens they were chaperoning on a field trip. In many recent cases, older female students have accused male coaches and teachers of sexual contact, Molinelli said.
To be fair, it’s just a fraction of the ranks of teachers and coaches who are accused of sexual misconduct. And state crime statistics don’t track how many coaches or teachers have been accused by their students or athletes. Yet by one measure, the number of teachers and administrators stripped of their licenses for sex-related offenses increased to 33 last year, up from 18 five years earlier, according to state statistics.
Molinelli said he has no answer for “why there’s been such an uptick in the number of these instances.” Teachers having sex with students isn’t a new phenomenon, so he suspects more students are reporting it, he said.
Rankin, of Woodcliff Lake, is an assistant track coach and an assistant bowling coach at Park Ridge, where he has been employed since 2009. The alleged sexual abuse began in 2009 when the girl was 16 and continued until she graduated, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, which did not release further details about the alleged crimes.
If convicted, Rankin faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison and will be registered as a Megan’s Law offender, Molinelli said. He was being held on $50,000 bail, officials said.
The age of consent in New Jersey is 16, but it doesn’t apply to teacher-student relationships, Molinelli said. Even if the student is 18 and legally an adult, the teacher or school official’s sexual involvement with a student or athlete is criminal, Molinelli said.
Noting the defendant’s age, Chief Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Joseph Del Russo said: “It was fairly recently that he was a student himself. I can understand how a person that young would look at some of these students as peers rather than look at them through the student-teacher relationship. But it’s exploitive and it’s criminal.” Some experts say social media and texting allow for an easing of boundaries that were harder to breach years ago. “There is access that was unavailable as recently as 10 years ago,” Del Russo said.
That has led many districts, such as Fort Lee, to prohibit teachers from “friending” students on Facebook or sending personal emails, policies that will be stressed at upcoming teacher orientation, Superintendent Steven Engravalle said. Texting should be avoided, but can be used in emergencies, such as a coach canceling practice. All communication should pass a simple test — “If it’s not something you would want published on the front page of The New York Times, don’t do it,” Engravalle said.
Not only should teachers and school employees be alerted to policies to prevent abuse, but parents must also be educated on how to ensure that their children are safe, said Terri Miller, president of the national organization Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation.
Parents should not allow children to use a computer in private. They should look for any changes in behavior such as dreading school or changes in sleep or eating habits. And they should make it clear that teachers have no business texting their child or sending emails via private systems, Miller said. “Starting a new school year is a great time to get parents onboard again to safeguard children,” Miller said
Rankin, who was not a teacher at the school, was the assistant coach for the spring track team, which is coed, and was the assistant bowling coach in the winter. He was not a coach for a fall team, so he had not begun working with athletes for the upcoming school year, said Robert Gamper, superintendent for the school district. Gamper said he would ask the school board at its September meeting to rescind Rankin’s appointments as assistant coach for both teams and to terminate his employment with the school district. Once high school administrators found out about the alleged abuse, they immediately informed police and the state, Gamper said.
Though school is yet not in session, counselors will be available today and Tuesday for students who want to talk, Gamper said. “I find this situation extremely disturbing, but it will not hinder our ability to open school with a high level of energy and enthusiasm,” he said.
Rankin had attended Park Ridge High and was a standout on the bowling and track teams. He graduated in 2006, Gamper said. He also works at Montvale Lanes at the bowling alley’s shoe rental counter, according to an employee who declined to give his name. The employee said he was surprised by the charges and declined to comment any further.
A woman who declined to give her name answered the door at Rankin’s former Park Ridge home Thursday. The woman said that Rankin lived there until recently. Hearing of the charges against Rankin, the woman said: “It’s very hard to believe. He seemed to be a very conscientious young man, a dedicated coach and student, completely aboveboard, honest, trustworthy.”
“It’s all alleged,” the woman said of the charges. “I have nothing but respect and good things to say about John.”