Press Release from GC Prosecutors Office
Former Gloucester County Institute of Technology teacher Adam L. Mayr age 39 of Woodbury Heights was sentenced today (8/4/17) to ten years in New Jersey state prison after pleading guilty to official misconduct and invasion of privacy by using a clandestine camera device at GCIT to create images of his female students under their skirts and dresses. Saying that Mayr’s secretive conduct showed he had knowledge of the potential harm to his victims, Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson imposed the 10 years sentence for second-degree misconduct and a concurrent three years for third-degree invasion of privacy. Mayr must serve at least five years before parole.
“This is an appropriate sentence for an educator who betrayed the trust of his students and engaged in criminal behavior,” Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton said.
A prison term was warranted as a deterrent to the defendant and others, Judge Allen-Jackson said. The judge said Mayr, who had been an English teacher at GCIT in Deptford since 2002, was in a position of authority over students about 14 years old “in a place where they should be able to go and learn.”Instead, Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Joseph Brook said students suffered psychological harm once Mayr’s actions came to light in March 2015. He had been creating the images in secret for about two years by then. At least 24 victims were identified.
Six civil lawsuits have been filed against Mayr on behalf of victims, said his lawyer, asking Judge Allen-Jackson to order a “civil reservation,” preventing the civil litigants from using his guilty pleas against him in the lawsuits. Mayr faces a devastating financial impact from the suits, the attorney said. The judge denied the defense request. Mayr’s lawyer also asked Judge Allen-Jackson to consider that Mayr had no prior criminal record, cooperated with investigators by pleading guilty, explaining details of his crimes and later seeking treatment to understand his behavior. AP Brook said whatever problems Mayr had did not excuse or explain what he did to his students.
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