TOMS RIVER, NJ – A local teacher, Kyle Banner, entered a guilty plea to multiple charges of endangering the welfare of a child, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office stated. The admission took place in a New Jersey court on November 6.
Banner, 48, from Brick Township, faced the legal consequences of his actions in the courtroom of Presiding Judge Guy P. Ryan. The prosecution will recommend a sentence of 364 days in jail for each count, to be served simultaneously. Additionally, Banner faces the permanent loss of his teaching license and a ban on future public employment. He will also be required to register under Megan’s Law and submit to lifetime parole supervision.The case against Banner began when Toms River Intermediate North administrators discovered sexually explicit content on his public Twitter profile. Banner, who also taught at Ocean County College, was suspended without pay following the incident.An extensive investigation by multiple units, including the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims and High Tech Crime Units, Toms River Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, confirmed that students had accessed the explicit images. The investigation further revealed that these images were captured within Banner’s classroom and that he had transmitted similar content to a student via Snapchat.On May 23, Banner surrendered to the Toms River Township Police Department. He was detained at the Ocean County Jail before being released under the state’s bail reform measures.