Crime and Courts

NJ School Therapist Charged With Having Sexual Relationship With Student: Prosecutor

Tara Cardinale
Bergen County Prosecutor's Office / Getty Images

What to Know

  • A therapist at a private high school in Paramus, New Jersey, was charged for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a student, prosecutors say
  • Tara Cardinale, 39 and of Washington Township, was arrested Friday and charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of criminal sexual contact.
  • An investigation revealed that on more than one occasion, she invited the student to her residence in Washington Township where they engaged in sexual activity, prosecutors say.

A therapist at a private high school in northern New Jersey was charged for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a young student -- whom she invited "on more than one occasion" to her residence, prosecutors say.

Tara Cardinale, 39 and of Washington Township, was arrested Friday and charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of criminal sexual contact.

According to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, on Dec. 29, 2019, the Paramus Police Department was tipped of to Cardinale's alleged behavior with police receiving information that she was having a sexual relationship with student who was under the age of 18.

A subsequent joint investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, the Paramus Police Department, and the Washington Township Police Department revealed that -- on more than one occasion -- Cardinale, who is a licensed clinical social worker, invited the student to her residence in Washington Township where they engaged in sexual activity, prosecutors say.

Attorney information for Cardinale was not immediately known.

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