By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Ocean County announced that on November 6, 2023, Kyle Banner, 48, of Brick Township, pled guilty to three counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child before the Honorable Guy P. Ryan, P.J.Cr.P.
Officials stated at the time of his sentencing the State will be seeking a term of 364 days in the Ocean County Jail as to each count, which will run concurrently.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the State will also seek the forfeiture of Banner’s teaching license and any and all future public employment.
According to officials, Banner will also be required to register as a Megan’s Law offender and be subject to parole supervision for life.
Officials said on April 23, 2023, administrators at Toms River Intermediate North were alerted that Banner - a teacher at both Toms River Intermediate North and Ocean County College - posted explicit photographs of himself to his public Twitter profile.
Authorities say on April 24, Banner was suspended from his teaching position without pay.
A thorough investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Toms River Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit determined that students had viewed the explicit images by accessing Banner’s public Twitter profile, officials say.
Further investigation revealed that the photographs were taken in his Toms River Intermediate North classroom, officials stated.
During the course of the investigation, officials said, detectives also discovered that Banner sent inappropriate photographs of himself to a student via Snapchat between the months of October and December 2022.
Officials said detectives also recovered numerous images of Banner engaging in explicit conduct with himself in his classroom at Toms River Intermediate North.
According to officials, on May 23, Banner surrendered himself to the Toms River Township Police Department.
He was processed and transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.