Kate Bartick

Bartick,KSTORY3DRAFT
October 8, 2014
Budget line:
Nicole Dufault was arrested for sexual assault and endangerment of the welfare of a
child.
Sources:
Katherine Carter Press Agent- Essex County Prosecutors Office
o Phone Number: (973) 621-4021
o Date contacted: via phone 10/08/2010
o Asked her for facts about the arrest and case
Amy Singer- Secretary at Columbia High School
o E-mail: Amyjsinger@yahoo.com
o Date contacted: via e-mail 10/6/2014
o Info: Asked about facts about the case, how administration was
handling the press, and how the administration was reacting to the
events
Siobhan Nolet- Senior female student
o Phone: +1 (917) 623-8405
o Date contacted: via phone 10/09/2014
o Info: Asked for a female student perspective on the events.
Anonymous male student.
o Date contacted: via e-mail 10/1/2014
o Info: Asked for a male student perspective
Anonymous female student
o Date contacted: via phone 10/10/2014
o Info: Asked for opinion on Dufault as a teacher at CHS
Invisible sources/web sites used:
Twitter.com
o URL: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23FreeMsDufault&src=tyah
o Dates accessed: 9/19/14
o Information on the #FreeMsDufault campaign

Maplewood, N.J.- A high school English teacher in New Jersey is awaiting trial for
charges of endangering the welfare of a child and the sexual assault of five teenage
boys. Students at Columbia High School (CHS), where she was a well-liked teacher
for nine years, expressed mixed reactions to the charges.
One female student from CHS says that Dufault was very well liked, and said that she
was everybodys favorite teacher.
Nicole Dufault, 35, was arrested at her home in Caldwell, New Jersey on the evening
of September 17. The next day, she was charged for multiple accounts of aggravated
sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Katherine Carters says, the
press agent at the Essex County Prosecutors Office.
Dufault was an English teacher for over nine years at CHS. The single mother of two
sons, ages 3 and 5, was accused of sexually assaulting five 15-year old male students
on school property on several different occasions. According to the Essex County
Prosecutors Office, the incidents allegedly began in 2013 and continued into the
2014 school year.
Siobhan Nolet, class of 2014, said that she was one of her favorite teachers.
Everyone thought she was so cool, she said. She always stood up for students who
needed it.
A male senior at CHS who asked to remain anonymous agreed with Nolet, and said
that Dufault was admired among his friends, too.
She was a very nice, laid-back teacher, said the anonymous student. Even after
[news of] the charges came out many students still stated that they still thought she
was a good teacher.
This student asked to remain anonymous due to rumors that administration will
remove privileges of students if they are quoted in the press.
Nolet also heard something about prom being taken away or an all-day Saturday
detention if students were quoted in the press, but claims that she never heard
anything directly from the administrators.
The CHS administration did not respond to these allegations, but Amy Singer, CHS
secretary, said that they are not threatening punishment to the press.
Theyve expressed to the CHS community is that this is an ongoing investigation
and if we answer questions we can possibly make ourselves a part of the
investigation, Singer said.

Students have taken to social media, popularizing a campaign using the hashtag
#FreeMsDufault to show their support, or lack their of, for their former teacher.

There is a video that shows her engaged in a sexual act with one of the victims,
Carter says, referring to new evidence that recently surfaced in the case. These
videos are now being used in Dufaults case.
Dufault pled not guilty to all charges and is currently being held at the Essex County
Correctional Facility on $500,000 bail.