Edison Township Settles $8.9 Million Teacher Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

Partner Jay Silvio Mascolo, Esq. of Rebenack Aronow & Mascolo L.L.P. (RAM Law) has secured a $8.9 million settlement against Edison Township for five sexual abuse survivors assaulted by a teacher during the 1980s. Two previous ones have been settled, and another two remain pending. Vincent Nappo, Esq. of Pfau Cochrane served as co-counsel.

All eight cases were filed under a landmark 2019 New Jersey law extending the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse survivors to pursue civil lawsuits. The plaintiffs are among nine known male survivors who suffered sexual abuse by woodshop teacher Frederick Burkley at Edison High School from 1979 through 1985.

Mr. Burkley, now deceased, abused the teens in a small room connected to the school’s woodshop following after-school extracurricular activities. Burkley pleaded guilty in 1986 to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact and was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay for his own psychiatric counseling.

In the current lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed that the Edison Township Board of Education knew or should have known Buckley was a threat to students, was negligent for not supervising him, and failed to implement policies and procedures to prevent further abuse.

“Survivors of child sexual abuse often do not come forward until many years after their abuse,” Mr. Mascolo said. “New Jersey joined several other states in passing laws to ensure survivors have access to the court system to seek justice and hold those responsible accountable for their actions. It was my privilege to represent these brave men, whose destruction of their youthful innocence should have been preventable.”

Mr. Mascolo is a Certified Civil Trial Attorney who dedicates a significant portion of his personal injury practice to representing sexual abuse survivors. He has also written extensively on the abuse of minors within the Catholic Diocese and the Boy Scouts of America.

RAM Law is a dedicated personal injury law firm with offices in New Brunswick, Somerville, and Manalapan, New Jersey, serving clients in the surrounding areas. For more information, call 732-247-3600 or contact online.

https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2025/02/04/11m-sexual-abuse-settlement-reached-amid-dispute-with-insurers/?slreturn=20250207153856