Ex-Butler Track Coach Indicted on Sex Assault Charges

Former Butler High School assistant track coach Jason Fennes was indicted Thursday on a set of sex assault charges on allegations he engaged in a sexual relationship with a former student who was between the ages of 14 and 16 years old.

The relationship allegedly occurred while 39-year-old Fennes was coaching at Butler High School.

Fennes, a Bloomfield resident, was indicted earlier this week on three counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault; eight counts of second-degree sexual assault and four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Montville Police Chief Richard Cook said in a news release.

Tuesday's indictment stemmed from charges he sexually abused former students while working as a first grade teacher at the William Mason School in the Montville school district between 2005 and 2008, authorities allege.

The new indictment, which includes three counts of first-degree sexual assault; three counts of second-degree sexual assault and counts of endangering the welfare of a child, is based on charges that accuse Fennes of beginning a sexual relationship with a Butler student in 1997, when he was the student's assistant track coach. The relationship continued even after he resigned from the position, Knapp said.  

Montville Township Det. Christopher Keezer launched an investigation into the allegations in March 2012, Knapp said, and was assisted by Det. Anne Marie Truppo of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. Fennes was arrested and charged on May 30, 2012.

Anyone with information relating to the charges is asked to contact Sgt. Susan Johnson of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Sex Crimes and Child Endangerment Unit at 973-829-8234 or Det. Christopher Keezer of the Montville Police Department at 973-257-4113.