In a shocking fall from grace, a former New Jersey television sports anchor was arrested after he was accused of inappropriately touching girls and making sexually suggestive remarks to students at the high school where he taught.
Pete Thompson was arrested last week on charges of criminal sexual contact, child endangerment and official misconduct. On Monday, a judge ordered Thompson be released from jail following his arrest stemming from allegations that came from five female students from when he worked at Atlantic County Institute of Technology.
"I'll follow all the rules and regulations, I'm not going anywhere," Thompson told the judge at the virtual hearing.
Thompson anchored sports for years on WMGM-TV in Wildwood until the station closed its news department at the end of 2014. From there he went on to be a television and media production teacher at ACIT. Over a five-month period beginning in Sept. 2021, authorities say he inappropriately touched multiple girls and made sexually suggestive comments.
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"I feel like he just thinks that he is untouchable because he's well-known in the community, that he could do all this and get away with it," said a mother of a girl at the high school Thompson taught at. Her daughter was not listed in the criminal complaint.
The mother said that her daughter witnesses some of the behavior, and even had her own encounters.
"They had located emails, numerous emails to her of him summoning her to his classroom, to be alone with her," the mother said. "The majority of it was verbal. He did massage her shoulders, he did hold her hand."
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The lawyer for the former South Jersey sports anchor maintains his client's innocence.
"Does he want to be out and defend himself? Absolutely. These allegations are vehemently denied," said Darrin Lord, Thompson's attorney.
School officials said Thompson was suspended in mid-February, immediately after the first allegation came to light. He was fired a couple weeks later.
"He said almost on a daily basis about not getting him fired. So obviously he know that his behavior was completely inappropriate," the mother said.
Thompson is scheduled for another court hearing at the end of November. In granting his release, the judge ordered Thompson to have no contact with any of the alleged victims.
