A 43-year-old man who worked as a preschool instructor in an elementary school in South Jersey has been charged with sexually assaulting “multiple” children over a period of 11 years, and prosecutors have said they are “deeply concerned” he might also have abused others.
Shaun M. Stebbins, of Somers Point, N.J., is expected to be arraigned on Monday on charges linked to sexually assaulting children younger than 13 and photographing at least one child in a sex act.
William E. Reynolds, the Atlantic County prosecutor, called the details of the allegations “heinous” and said he feared that Mr. Stebbins might have preyed on more children, given the access provided by his employment.
“As we have seen in other recent cases, individuals who prey on children often place themselves in positions of trust within schools, organizations and youth programs to gain access to victims,” Mr. Reynolds said on Friday in a statement announcing Mr. Stebbins’s arrest.
Mr. Stebbins had worked for several years as an aide in a preschool class at Woodbine Elementary School in Woodbine, N.J. In 2025, he was honored as one of the school’s employees of the year, and there is a photo of him on the district’s social media pages hugging a young child. The 260-student school educates children from preschool through eighth grade.
The district’s superintendent, Adrienne Breitinger, did not reply to messages seeking comment. The president of the school board, Harold Harris, declined to address the charges in a phone interview on Friday.
The charges stem from claims of abuse by four children, all of whom came forward about two weeks ago to detail the assaults, according to an interview with a relative of the children who is not being named to protect the identities of the accusers.
The relative, who has known the defendant for about 20 years, said that Mr. Stebbins spent much of his time online, often livestreaming, and that the authorities had seized 15 hard drives as well as other electronic devices from the home where he was living.
According to prosecutors, the abuse took place between 2014 and 2025.
Mr. Stebbins moved to the East Coast about 20 years ago after living in Texas and Oregon, records show. He studied social work at Stockton University in Galloway, N.J., after serving for four years in the Air Force, where he worked for the 82nd Communications Squadron, according to public records and his Facebook page.
No lawyer is listed in the court records for Mr. Stebbins, who was arrested on Sunday and is being held in jail. His relatives could not be reached for comment.
He is expected to be arraigned in Atlantic County Superior Court on Monday on six charges: aggravated sexual assault of a victim under the age of 13; permitting a child to engage in pornography; photographing a child in a sex act; endangering the welfare of a child by sexual conduct; showing obscene material to a minor; and criminal sexual contact.
Georgia Gee contributed research.
Tracey Tully is a reporter for The Times who covers New Jersey, where she has lived for more than 20 years.
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