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Former NJ Teacher Charged With Molesting Students

MONTVILLE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Jason Fennes, 37, who taught in Montville schools from 1998 to 2010, is accused of molesting two children.

Prosecutors say one alleged victim was his first grade student at William Mason School, and at the time of the alleged 2005 sex assault the girl was no more than 7-years-old.

Investigators say an adult close to the girl heard the accusation years ago, but only recently reported it.

"If there is substance to this, how long has this been going on?" parent Andrea Bornstein told CBS 2's Dave Carlin.

Bornstein's two sons had Fennes as their teacher. She says she never saw anything to suggest criminal activity, but noticed what she calls "favoritism."

"I thought it was a little bit unusual, a little bit too close, a little too affectionate with the female students," she said. "I could see it myself with my own eyes."

"I thought he was a very nice young man. We've lived here so long we've never had something like this happen in the neighborhood," another resident said.

Neighbors describe Fennes as friendly and generous, saying he's been renting a house in Bloomfield for the past two years.

He was arrested on Monday and released from Morris County Jail Thursday after posting a $100,000 bail.

The very next day, Fennes was arrested again at the Cranford home of his parents, facing a new set of sex assault charges.

Prosecutors say they'd uncovered evidence of a second alleged sex assault of a minor, details of which have not been made public.

In his second stay at the jail, bail is set at $300,000.

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