A former teacher and basketball coach in the Trenton Public School District has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault of a student between 2014 and 2019.
Darrell R. Moody, 51, of Plainfield was arrested in Trenton on Aug 12, according to Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa Hilton and Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson.
Moody was charged with one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, one count of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. The prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to detain Moody pending trial.
The victim contacted the Trenton police in May to report incidents of sexual assault that began when the victim was in middle school. A joint investigation by the MCPO Special Victims Unit and police detectives revealed that the victim met Moody when he was teaching fifth grade at Parker Elementary School, authorities said.
Moody allegedly sexually assaulted the victim over the course of several years beginning in middle school and continuing in high school. Moody was also coaching basketball at Joyce Kilmer Middle School during that time.
In an unrelated incident, on June 27, 2023, South Plainfield Police Department charged Moody with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of second-degree solicitation of a minor for prostitution.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the prosecutor’s SVU at (609) 989-6568 or mcposvu@mercercounty.org.
