A former Pequannock Township High School theater and vocal-music director was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday after admitting he sexually assaulted a student who was 15 years old when the abuse began. William J. Arnold had been jailed for more than a year before his sentencing; he had been suspended from the district.
Arnold, who lived in Wayne, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to second-degree sexual assault by a supervisor of a victim older than 16, according to New Jersey 101.5. The station reported he was sentenced to seven years for sexually assaulting the teen student multiple times, with Morris County Superior Court Judge Robert Hanna handing down the sentence. Reports on Arnold's age conflict: New Jersey 101.5 reported he was 54, while WRNJ Radio reported he was 53.
How the Relationship Began and Continued
Police said Arnold started a sexual relationship with the student in January 2024, when she was 15 and one of his students, according to the outlet's earlier report on the investigation. The encounters continued for a year and eight months before ending in August 2025, per that account. The teen told investigators that sexual activity happened in an empty classroom at the high school at least once.
Once the victim turned 16, she and Arnold often met at a park near her home and had sex in his vehicle, police said, per the same account. Text messages between the teen and Arnold, along with a recorded conversation between them, were shared with police, the report states. Arnold was married and a father, according to the reporting.
Charges Filed Last Fall
Arnold was charged on Sept. 29, 2025, with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree official misconduct, and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, according to WRNJ Radio. He was held at the Morris County Correctional Facility under the state's Criminal Justice Reform Act while the case proceeded, the station reported.
Pequannock Township High School suspended Arnold from his post as director of theater and vocal music once the allegations surfaced. The Pequannock Board of Education later voted to approve the termination of staff member “0514,” effective Dec. 8, according to nj1015.com's reporting on the investigation.
A Similar Case in Ocean Township
Arnold's sentencing follows a comparable case involving Justin McGhee, who had been head coach of the Middletown High School North girls' basketball team for eight years and lived in Ocean Township. McGhee was arrested in January 2025 after he was seen with a teen in a car after midnight, according to an affidavit, and he told police he had sexual encounters with the teen in his home's basement.
McGhee, also a married father, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to sexual assault by a supervisor of a victim older than 16 and was sentenced in February 2026 to five-and-a-half years in prison. He was required to surrender his teaching certificates, must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law, and will be subject to parole supervision for life.
New Jersey's sexual assault statute, 2C:14-2, defines aggravated sexual assault to include sexual penetration when a victim is younger than 13, or is at least 13 but younger than 16, among other listed circumstances, according to the New Jersey Legislature. The statute's broader provisions were not detailed in connection with the specific terms of Arnold's plea.
