Teacher Arrested In Atlantic City Hotel Incident, Then Fired By District
A middle school computer teacher and a friend were charged after a man reported being restrained and charged $1,250 through his phone.
By Hugo Khalil ·
A computer teacher at Middle Township Middle School and a friend were charged in an incident at an Atlantic City casino hotel room where a man was restrained, subjected to sexual acts, and had $1,250 moved from his phone to an account. Amanda Crafts, 35, of Wildwood Crest, and Veda Engel, 23, of Cape May, were charged in the Oct. 9 incident. Both were released Oct. 15 after nearly a week in custody, with pretrial release requiring check-ins with the court every other week.
Police say the victim met the two women at a hotel resort bar in Atlantic City, exchanged numbers with Engel, and later went to their room. Once inside, the man told investigators the women stripped him and held him to the bed. The complaint says Engel performed sexual acts, then stopped and said, "That's what you get for $1,250." According to the affidavit, as Crafts held the victim down, Engel used facial recognition to unlock his phone and made four Apple Pay transfers totaling $1,250 to her account. A detective wrote that the transactions were "made without his consent in exchange for sexual acts."
Crafts taught computers in the school's special area department and told the court she has four children. Appearing by video from the Atlantic County Justice Facility, she told Judge Timothy Maguire she had no prior arrests. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," she said. Engel works at SoFresh SoClean Commercial Cleaning in Ocean City, her attorney said.
On Oct. 19, the Middle Township School District confirmed the employee had been fired. "Our responsibility is to protect our students, follow appropriate procedures, and ensure that those entrusted with caring for and educating our children meet the standards expected of them," Superintendent Stephanie DeRose said. "The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority."
Engel has faced prostitution-related charges before. Last year, she allegedly offered an undercover New Jersey State Police detective sex for $1,000 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and was released on a summons. She has another prostitution-related charge dating to December, Breaking AC reported. Both women were held until Oct. 15, when the state consented to their release.
Source: Fox News
