Teacher, Middlesex County Man Allegedly Had Sexually Explicit Talks With Students

A Middlesex County man who works as a substitute teacher at Matawan-Aberdeen Regional High School was arrested Thursday night and charged with engaging in sexually explicit conversations with two students, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Friday.

Philip Riveley, 29, of Patricia Avenue in the Colonia section of Woodbridge Township, was arrested Thursday by detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau and the Matawan Police Department, with assistance from the Woodbridge Township Police Department.

Riveley is charged with two counts of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office:

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau and the Matawan Police Department revealed Riveley engaged in sexually explicit conversations with 15-year-old and 17-year-old female students at the school. 

Riveley is being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, on $150,000 full cash bail, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge John R. Tassini, J.S.C.

If convicted of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Riveley faces a sentence of five to 10 years in prison.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.

Anyone with any information is urged to call Detective Andrea Tozzi, of this Office at 1-800-533-7443 or Detective Joseph Lovallo of the Matawan Police Department at 732-566-1010.