By: Richard L. Smith
A former English teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in New Jersey state prison after admitting to engaging in explicit acts with two of her students over a period of several years, according to Raymond S. Santiago.
Julie Rizzitello, 37, of Brick Township in Ocean County, was sentenced in Monmouth County Superior Court before Judge Jill G. O’Malley. In addition to the prison term, she will be subject to Parole Supervision for Life, must register as an offender under Megan’s Law, is permanently barred from contact with the victims, and forfeited her teaching position.
An investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau and the Wall Township Police Department — with assistance from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Brick Township Police Department — determined that Rizzitello’s criminal conduct involved two male students.
Authorities said she met one victim when he was a freshman and the other when he was a junior.
Prosecutors stated that after initially developing friendly, one-on-one relationships with the students, the interactions escalated to explicit activity that continued for several months.
According to investigators, the explicit acts primarily occurred at Rizzitello’s home in Brick Township, inside a vehicle parked in Wall Township, and at a Belmar bagel shop owned by her family, where both students had been employed at her suggestion.
While the investigation was ongoing, authorities said Rizzitello contacted both victims and asked them to delete evidence of the crimes from their electronic devices.
She was arrested without incident in July 2024. Before being formally indicted, Rizzitello pleaded guilty in August 2025 to two counts of second-degree explicit contact.
During sentencing, Judge O’Malley ruled that four aggravating factors substantially outweighed a single mitigating factor. 
The judge referenced the impact of a victim statement delivered in court when denying a defense request to reduce the sentence to five years.
Rizzitello will now serve the 10-year term under the conditions imposed by the court.