UPDATED: Assistant principal faces sex assault charges

Kenneth Lutz, assistant principal at Merriam Avenue School in Newton, was charged with first-degree sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault by contact in connection with incidents in 1998 and 1999, the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Lutz, 52, of Philipsburg is accused of sexually assaulting a child in Philipsburg when he was a teacher at Lopatcong Elementary School there.

According to the prosecutor’s office, he “engaged the victim in acts of sexual penetration and contact” when the victim was 12 and 13. The victim was a student at the school where he taught, and he drove the victim to and from school as a family friend.

Lutz was being held in the Warren County Jail until an appearance in state Superior Court.

Newton Schools Superintendent Joseph Piccirillo said he was unable to comment on the charges because it is a personnel matter and an ongoing legal matter.

He did point out that the charges were based on events from two decades ago when Lutz was employed as a teacher in another district. “None of these charges were related to his work in Newton.”

When Piccirillo learned of the charges, Lutz was suspended immediately. “We are currently beginning the process of filling the assistant principal vacancy at Merriam Avenue to ensure a smooth start to the school year,” he said.

“I take the safety of the students in our district very seriously and am committed to helping our community get through this difficult time,” he added.

Lutz also was a teacher at Beloved Community Charter School in Jersey City and at New Smyrna Beach High School in New Smyrna, Fla., and Blue Lake Elementary School in DeLand, Fla.

The aggravated sexual assault charge carries a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years, and the sexual assault by contact charge carries a prison sentence of five to 10 years.

Prosecutor James Pfeiffer thanked the Newton and Phillipsburg Police Departments as well as his office’s Special Victims Unit, the FBI’s Newark office and Homeland Security Investigations for their help with the investigation, which is continuing.

Anyone with information about the allegations is asked to contact the prosecutor’s office Special Victims Unit at 908-475-6040 or 908-475-6060.