TOMS RIVER – A former Ocean County Performing Arts Academy teacher had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student while employed at the school, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Thursday.
Douglas Bollinger, 56, of Neptune City, was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of criminal sexual contact for incidents that occurred in Point Pleasant Beach and Asbury Park between February 2019 and August 2019, Billhimer said in a statement.
Bollinger is no longer employed at the performing arts academy, the prosecutor said. The public high school in Toms River is part of the Ocean County Vocational Technical School District.
Bollinger was taken into custody at his home on Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, the statement said.
According to the prosecutor, he is currently in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, where he will remain pending the outcome of the detention hearing.
“As far as I know, Mr. Bollinger is no longer employed as a teacher at the Performing Arts Academy, but I would encourage parents to talk to their children about it if they had Mr. Bollinger as a teacher,” Billhimer said.
Anyone with additional information regarding Bollinger’s alleged misconduct or knowledge of other inappropriate conduct on his part is asked to contact Detective Nicole Testa of the District Attorney’s Office at 732-929-2027, extension 3489.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at [email protected].
