Crime & Safety

16-Year-Old Triton Student Dies of Apparent Drug Overdose

Another teen, a former student of the regional district that includes Gloucester Township, also died of an overdose last month. He was friends with the 16-year-old girl who died.

A 16-year-old Triton Regional High School student died of an apparent heroin overdose last month, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said Monday.

The teen was one of two overdoses reported to authorities in September, the other, an 18-year-old boy, was a friend of the 16-year-old girl, the Courier-Post reported. The boy was a former Triton student.

The girl died on Sept. 14 and the boy three days later. Their deaths were not immediately reported by authorities.

"Recently, we have observed an increase in the number of students affected by drugs and alcohol, which interrupts one's development and is certainly counter to our mission," BHPRSD Superintendent Brian Repici said in a letter to parents dated Sept. 23.

Repici said the district is taking steps to deal with the increasing drug problem by partnering with local police departments and streamlining communication of drug-related issues to them. He said the district also has a curriculum in place to "educate our students about the cruel effects of illicit drug use."

The drug deaths are more bad news for the beleaguered regional school district that includes Gloucester Township, Runnemede and Bellmawr. A Highland High School counselor was charged with a sex crime on Sept. 12.

Anthony Williams, 52, of the 1200 block of Little Gloucester Road, was arrested after allegedly engaging in unspecified inappropriate sexual behavior when a male student was at his home. Williams was was suspended from his position at the high school following the arrest, as police charged him with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact in the incident.
 
Williams is the seventh employee of the regional district to be charged with a sex crime or allegedly trying to cover one up over the past year. The allegations against Williams come just months after the resolution of the Triton sex scandal, when former assistant principal Jernee Kollock resigned her position in exchange for charges against her being dropped.

Authorities accused her of directing a victim what to write in a statement about the teacher-student relationships. The student's statement had Kollock's handwritten corrections on it, but the assistant principal did not alert police about the student's relationship with her teacher. The four other defendants—including three teachers who had inappropriate relations with students and the former principal of the school who admitted to trying to conceal the relationships from authorities—all pleaded guilty to charges. The incidents occurred during the 2011-12 school year.

Charges are still pending against Timber Creek Regional High School teacher David Clune, who has been accused of harassment after allegedly sending 72 text and Facebook messages to ex-students over four days during the July 4th holiday weekend inviting them on dates.



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