Former NJ Teacher's Family and School Accused in Student Sexual Abuse Cover-Up
Lawsuit Reveals Grooming, Assault, and Negligence at Red Bank Regional High School Involving Michael Canning
December 15, 2025 - Daily Voice
RED BANK, NJ. — A former New Jersey high school teacher, Michael Canning, is facing a civil lawsuit filed by a woman identified as S.P., who alleges years of sexual abuse during her time as a student at Red Bank Regional High School. The lawsuit, filed on December 15 in Monmouth County Superior Court, names Canning, the Red Bank Regional Board of Education, the school district, and several of Canning's family members as defendants. According to the complaint, Canning, an English teacher and girls' junior varsity basketball coach, began an inappropriate relationship with S.P. in her sophomore year around 2015, which escalated to sexual abuse in her junior year through 2017. The abuse allegedly took place at various locations, including the school, Canning's home, his mother's home, and areas around Red Bank, Little Silver, and Shrewsbury. The filing portrays Canning as manipulative, constantly evading detection, and claims the school was negligent in failing to protect S.P. from harm.
The lawsuit details disturbing tactics Canning allegedly used to conceal the abuse, such as requiring S.P. to hide behind dumpsters and wait up to an hour before entering his home when he was alone. He reportedly supplied her with alcohol and marijuana, and after sexual encounters, forced her to leave immediately to avoid detection, leaving her to clean up outside. In one incident, the complaint states that Canning ejaculated on her eyes, telling her "he did this so she could not see him because he felt shame." To prevent pregnancy, he allegedly instructed her to insert a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and diluted acetone into her body while elevating her pelvis, refusing condoms because "his wife might find them." The suit also alleges Canning had sexual relationships with multiple students and that his family members, who worked in the district, had reason to know about the abuse but did nothing; one reportedly had lunch with Canning and S.P. in her office.
Canning's wife discovered explicit text messages between him and S.P., leading to disclosure to his mother and eventual divorce. Criminally, Canning was arrested in November 2022 by authorities connected to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, pleaded guilty in July 2023 to sexually abusing a student, and was sentenced to four years in prison. The civil suit emphasizes the school's duty to prevent such harm and seeks accountability for the negligence that allowed the abuse to occur.
Teacher-student sexual abuse cases, particularly those involving high school educators grooming and assaulting students, remain a persistent issue in New Jersey and across the United States. The case of Michael Canning — a former English teacher and coach at Red Bank Regional High School who pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child after a yearslong sexual relationship with a female student starting around 2015, involving grooming, hidden encounters, substance provision, and extreme concealment tactics — shares similarities with numerous other recent incidents. These often feature manipulative relationships, abuse at school or off-campus locations, negligence by school districts, and subsequent civil lawsuits holding institutions accountable.
In New Jersey, several high-profile cases echo elements of grooming, long-term abuse, and institutional failures. For instance, Julie Rizzitello, a former English teacher at Wall High School in Monmouth County, pleaded guilty in 2025 to sexually assaulting two male students, with relationships spanning years starting in 2017; the case involved multiple locations and highlighted patterns of repeated misconduct. Another disturbing parallel is Laura Caron, a fifth-grade teacher at Middle Township Elementary School, arrested in 2025 for an alleged sexual relationship with a young male student from 2016–2020 (beginning when he was 11), resulting in her having a child with him — a case uncovered via family resemblance and leading to charges of aggravated sexual assault. Additional examples include Allison Havemann-Niedrach (charged in 2024–2025 with sexual assault of an eighth-grade student in Freehold Regional) and various Jersey Shore-area arrests involving male teachers abusing female students, often with charges like endangering the welfare of a child and official misconduct.
Nationally, similar patterns appear in cases like Christina Formella, a former Downers Grove South High School teacher and soccer coach in Illinois, indicted in 2025 on dozens of counts of criminal sexual assault and grooming after an inappropriate relationship with a male student involving repeated acts at school and home. These incidents frequently involve civil lawsuits against districts for negligence, as seen in New Jersey's ongoing Cherry Hill cases (multiple former students alleging abuse by a teacher in the 1970s–1980s, enabled by school inaction) and settlements under expanded statutes like the New Jersey Child Victims Act. Such cases underscore common themes of power imbalances, delayed reporting, and the need for stronger oversight to prevent predators from continuing unchecked.
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