By: Charles Stannard
DEEP RIVER — The case of Jeffrey Donald Sack, a Valley Regional High School science teacher accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, has been continued to Nov. 10 as new information links Sack to another teacher charged with numerous sexual offenses in the Willimantic area.
Sack, 40, of 67 Cedar Lake Road in Chester, appeared in Middlesex Superior Court Tuesday. A teacher at the high school since 1999, Sack was arrested on Aug. 28 on charges of risk of injury to a child, employing a minor in an obscene performance, and enticing a minor by computer. He has pled not guilty and remains free on $75,000 bond.
Sack has been suspended with pay by Superintendent of Schools Ruth Levy pending developments in the case. He is represented by Middletown lawyer Carl Fortuna.
Information released by court officials shows state police began investigating Sack after he received a letter from Adam Friedman, a 44-year-old teacher in the Arts at Capitol Theatre magnet school program in Willimantic.
Friedman was arrested last December and charged with 10 counts of second degree sexual assault and 11 counts of risk of injury to a child for incidents during 2008 with a 15 year-old female student. Friedman was released on a $750,000 bond, but was jailed last February on a $1.5 million bond after he violated a court order and attempted to make contact with the victim.
State police detectives were working with the Department of Corrections to monitor Friedman’s mail, with Friedman sending Sack a letter last spring that berated Sack for not writing Friedman in jail and questioned whether it was because Sack was “feeling guilty about what you did,” with the alleged victim. Friedman threatened to write letters to Sack’s wife and Region 4 school officials about an alleged incident involving Sack and the same 15 year old female student in Friedman’s case.
Detectives questioned Sack about the letter last June and later obtained a court warrant to seize his home computer for forensic analysis. Under questioning, Sack admitted that he had met the alleged victim during the summer of 2008 while helping Friedman stage a production of the musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” at the Capitol Theatre.
Detectives also questioned the alleged victim, who claimed Sack had expressed an attraction to her and later engaged in a live computer video chat with her. The student alleged she performed a nude “show” while Sack watched on his home computer.
REGION 4 — Jeffrey Sack, a teacher at Valley Regional High School, has been placed on administrative leave following his arrest on multiple charges related to alleged misconduct with a minor.
“..there is no reason to believe at this time that any inappropriate or criminal conduct has occurred with any student in our school system. Regardless, the teacher in question was placed on administrative leave from his teaching duties pending a thorough investigation by school officials.” said Superintendent of Schools Ruth Levy in a written statement. A full copy of Levy’s statement is below.
Court documents show Sack is due back in court in Middletown on September 11th and was released after posting a $75,000 bond. You can track the progress of the case on the court docket tracker linked below.
Links:
Court Docket Tracker from the Connecticut Judicial Branch
Letter from Superintendent of Schools Ruth Levy to Parents and the Community
