A Freehold Township High School teacher who ran on the Republican ballot for Englishtown Borough Council last year has now been criminally charged in four separate New Jersey municipalities with sexually assaulting a student. Court documents allege the conduct began with a kiss after school and escalated over seven months into more than 30 sexual encounters, including one in which the student says she repeatedly resisted before he forced himself on her.
Jesse Heubel, 37, of Englishtown, a teacher at Freehold Township High School, was criminally charged on July 14, 2026, following an investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau. The case has since been picked up by outlets across the region, all citing the same set of charges and the same underlying investigation.
The Charges
Heubel faces nine total charges spread across four municipalities: five counts of second-degree sexual assault and four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, broken down by jurisdiction as follows:
Freehold Township: one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of second-degree sexual assault
Englishtown: one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of second-degree sexual assault
Manalapan Township: one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of second-degree sexual assault
Red Bank: one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of second-degree sexual assault
One of the five sexual assault counts stems specifically from an allegation of force or coercion, separate from the other four counts. Under New Jersey law, each second-degree charge carries a potential sentence of five to ten years in prison.
What Court Documents Allege
According to an affidavit obtained by reporters, the student, who was at least 16 but under 18 at the time, told police her relationship with Heubel began at Freehold Township High School shortly after Thanksgiving 2025, when he kissed her in a classroom after school. Court documents say he continued kissing her on a few more occasions at school between December 2025 and February 2026.
The conduct is alleged to have escalated in February 2026 to sexual penetration inside the school’s drama classroom. From there, prosecutors allege the encounters continued at locations across Monmouth County, including classrooms, vehicles, and parking lots in Freehold Township, Englishtown, Manalapan, and Red Bank, with one encounter allegedly occurring in a vehicle at a Red Bank YMCA parking lot following an awards ceremony at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in May.
In total, authorities allege the sexual activity occurred more than 30 times between late November 2025 and July 2026. The student told investigators that during one encounter in June, she repeatedly resisted before Heubel forced sexual intercourse, an allegation that resulted in the additional charge of sexual assault by force or coercion. The final alleged act of sexual penetration is said to have occurred July 8, 2026, inside the student’s vehicle at a park in Englishtown.
How the Case Came to Light
The case became public after Heubel’s wife discovered explicit text messages on his phone on July 11 and contacted Manalapan police. She then recorded a conversation in which Heubel admitted to having sex with the student “a few times,” according to court documents, and turned the recording over to investigators.
Heubel drove more than 500 miles back to New Jersey and surrendered to authorities on July 12 after learning he was under investigation.
Who Heubel Is in the Community
Beyond his role as a technology teacher, Heubel has taught since at least 2015 and worked as an award-winning varsity wrestling coach who also helped with the school’s theater program, earning a 2026 Basie Awards nomination for Outstanding Set Design of a Play months before his arrest. He had also been hired as an assistant wrestling coach at Old Bridge High School, and volunteered this past summer to lead a free wrestling camp for local teenagers.
He was also involved in local politics. Heubel was one of several names on the Republican ballot for Englishtown Borough Council in the June 2025 primary, campaigning for public office in the same community where part of the alleged conduct is said to have taken place.
Case Status
At a July 22 detention hearing, Superior Court Judge Marc Lemieux ruled Heubel would remain jailed, finding that his release could put the student, his wife, and Heubel himself at risk. The judge cited a record of Heubel expressing thoughts of self-harm if he were caught. Assistant Prosecutor Sevan Biramian described the allegations as a months-long pattern in which Heubel used his position as a teacher to gain the student’s trust.
Immediately after his arrest, Heubel was removed from all duties and banned from school property, Freehold Regional High School District Superintendent Nicole Hazel said in a statement to the school community: “The safety and welfare of our students remain our highest priority. We will continue to take all appropriate measures to protect them.”
Heubel’s attorney, Jonathan F. Marshall, has said the firm is investigating the allegations and noted that “actual facts in cases such as these tend to be much more complex than they initially appear.”
The Prosecutor’s Office is asking anyone with information about Heubel’s activities to come forward. Tips can be directed to MCPO Detective Julio Casso at 732-431-7160, ext. 2220, or Freehold Township Police Department Detective Tyler Whelan at 732-462-7908.