A former New Jersey high school teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting two students, including at her family's bagel shop. Julie Rizzitello, 37, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree sexual assault involving grooming and sexual activity with students in 2017 and 2024.

Prosecutors revealed the assaults occurred at Rizzitello's home, in vehicles, and at the Belmar bagel shop owned by her family, where both victims worked at her suggestion. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office investigation found Rizzitello met one victim as a freshman and another as a junior, developing relationships before escalating to sexual activity over several months.

Judge Jill G. O'Malley denied a defense request to reduce the sentence to five years, citing the egregious nature of the grooming and manipulation tactics. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago emphasized these were not isolated incidents but "textbook cases of grooming" that inflicted emotional and psychological harm on students Rizzitello was entrusted to educate. Wall Township Police Chief Sean O'Halloran praised the victims' courage in coming forward.