OCVTS Victims, Whistleblowers Demand Criminal Probe into Alleged Grooming and Coverup

OCVTS Victims, Whistleblowers Demand Criminal Probe After New Sinnott Charges

TOMS RIVER, N.J. – The state’s expanding criminal case against former Silverton fire chief Robert Sinnott is sharpening an uncomfortable question in Ocean County: Why, victims and whistleblowers ask, has there been no publicly announced criminal investigation into allegations that adults at Ocean County Vocational Technical School ignored or concealed sexual abuse involving students and retaliated against people who spoke up?

Retired New Jersey State Police Major Robert Yaiser, a former OCVTS law enforcement instructor who is suing the district, says he has now counted 95 contacts with government officials, law enforcement agencies and public bodies between June 2024 and June 2025. He says those efforts were aimed at getting authorities to examine complaints involving student sexual abuse, bullying, harassment, intimidation and what he alleges was retaliation against whistleblowers.

Sinnott Case Puts New Focus on Demands for OCVTS Investigation

The renewed demand follows another major development in the separate criminal case against Robert M. Sinnott Jr., the former Silverton Volunteer Fire Company chief and retired Island Heights police officer.

A state grand jury recently returned a nine-count indictment involving 11 alleged victims. The case includes criminal sexual contact, official misconduct and pattern of official misconduct charges.

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has said its continuing investigation uncovered additional alleged conduct after Sinnott was first charged in 2025.

Sinnott has pleaded not guilty. The charges against him remain accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The Sinnott case is not connected to OCVTS. But the Attorney General’s words announcing the expanded prosecution caught Yaiser’s attention.

“The defendant held positions of trust and power within the communities he served and among his coworkers and subordinates in government,” Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said. “But, as alleged in the indictment, he abused that trust again and again.”

Davenport added: “The State is committed to fighting for justice for these victims.”

For Yaiser, that statement reflected what he sees as a glaring disparity.

“Our victims deserve justice as well,” Yaiser told Shore News Network.

The comparison comes with another Ocean County wrinkle. An alleged Sinnott victim recently told Shore News Network that the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office closed the Sinnott investigation twice before state investigators ultimately identified 11 alleged victims and obtained the indictment.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation in response to questions about that allegation.

“As you are aware, we do not comment on the existence or non-existence of any investigation,” OCPO Press Officer Bryan Huntenburg told Shore News Network in that case.

Yaiser Says He Asked for Help 95 Times

Yaiser’s latest accounting wasn’t pulled from memory.

He said his attorney asked him to assemble a record showing how often he sought an investigation or publicly raised the complaints during the year leading up to his June 25, 2025 suspension.

His count: 95.

That includes emails, correspondence with public officials and law enforcement, requests for investigations and 10 appearances he and Boero made at Ocean County Board of Commissioners meetings, according to Yaiser.

The sheer number, however, has become part of Yaiser’s argument that government agencies had repeated opportunities to examine what he and others were reporting.

“Boero and I believe that the facts are already spelled out for criminal convictions,” Yaiser said.

Whether prosecutors believe the evidence establishes a crime is a separate question. No OCVTS administrator has been publicly charged with participating in a cover-up based on allegations raised by Yaiser and former students.

OCVTS Already Has a Criminal History Involving Students

What makes the current dispute different from an ordinary disagreement over school administration is that criminal cases involving former OCVTS teachers aren’t hypothetical.

They already happened.

Former Performing Arts Academy teachers Douglas Bollinger and Zachary Slater pleaded guilty in separate criminal cases involving students.

Those prosecutions have become central to civil litigation now confronting OCVTS.

One lawsuit detailed allegations that the Performing Arts Academy became a place where sexual predators were able to target students while administrators failed to intervene.

The civil complaints go beyond the actions of individual teachers. Former students allege administrators ignored complaints, failed to report warning signs, discouraged students from coming forward and, in some instances, retaliated against people who raised concerns.

Those are allegations contained in pending lawsuits. They have not been proven in court.

By August, a third lawsuit had been filed in the expanding OCVTS sexual abuse controversy, adding to pressure on the district and county officials to explain what administrators knew and when they knew it.

That is the ground Yaiser wants criminal investigators to examine.

Yaiser’s Own Lawsuit Alleges Retaliation

Yaiser isn’t only advocating for former students. He is also a plaintiff.

His whistleblower lawsuit alleges OCVTS and county officials retaliated against him after he repeatedly raised concerns about student safety, bullying, racial harassment and employee misconduct.

The retired State Police major began teaching law enforcement at OCVTS in 2015.

He alleges that instead of addressing his complaints, officials suspended him, pursued tenure charges and ultimately ended his employment.

Those claims remain contested civil allegations.

The controversy has continued to follow former OCVTS administrators elsewhere. Former OCVTS Assistant Superintendent Michael Maschi, now superintendent in North Hanover, is individually named in Yaiser’s whistleblower lawsuit.

Maschi has not been criminally charged, and the allegations against him have not been proven.

FBI Reports Raised Expectations, but No Public Case Has Followed

Last month brought what appeared to be the most significant development yet.

Shore News Network reported that the FBI was reportedly interviewing people connected to the OCVTS controversy, including current and former county officials, school administrators and employees.

The FBI did not publicly confirm the scope or existence of any investigation.

Shore News Network also reported in August that sources said the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office was examining allegations surrounding the vocational school controversy. The Attorney General’s Office did not publicly confirm that investigation.

For victims and whistleblowers, the silence has become increasingly frustrating.

Yaiser Says Complaints Reached the Governor, AG and FBI

Yaiser’s correspondence shows his requests did not stop at the county line.

He says the Attorney General’s Office was sent information about the complaints on Feb. 2, 2026. Yaiser also alleges that an investigator within that office had confirmed complaints were intentionally being covered up.

Yaiser says Congressman Jeff Van Drew’s office forwarded the complaints and a request for investigation to the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey on May 21, 2025.

He says another request was forwarded to the FBI’s Red Bank office on Sept. 25, 2025.

Then, on July 22 of this year, Yaiser says Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office was provided information concerning the complaints and alleged cover-up. He said gubernatorial aide Vinnie Funelas had been communicating with him about the matter before recently stopping.

Nobody is sure about what the radio silence from the governor’s office means.

County’s Independent Investigation Has Yet to Produce Public Answers

There has also been discussion of an investigation outside traditional law enforcement.

Shore News Network reported in August that Ocean County officials were considering an independent investigation into the OCVTS controversy.

At the time, no official decision had been announced regarding who would conduct the review, its scope or what authority an outside investigator would have.

For many, the recent change in administration at the school has been troubling, with claims of nepotism and family control of the district.

The Ocean County Vocational Technical School Board appointed Gary L. MacDonald Jr., the son-in-law of former Superintendent Karen Homiek, as the district’s new superintendent following Homiek’s retirement. MacDonald is married to Homiek’s daughter, Jody Homiek MacDonald. The family connection raises questions about the district’s hiring process, including whether the position was publicly advertised, how many candidates were considered and what safeguards were used to ensure the appointment was based on qualifications and merit.

A source within the Ocean County Board of Commissioners said an informal request was made to delay the announcement of a new superintendent until after the legal matters subside. Instead, the school board led by former New Jersey Assemblyman John Catalano decided to ignore that request and hire MacDonald anyway.

Yaiser says he requested such a review long before county officials began discussing one.

Yaiser said he is weary of any law enforcement officials investigating. The school district is full of political patronage hires, family members of high-ranking officials, and party insiders from both the Democrat and Republican parties with influence all the way to the governor’s office.

“I doubt that this alleged ‘independent investigation’ — which I asked for a year ago — will ever take place,” Yaiser said. “They have not answered any questions because they can’t.”

OCVTS has continued operating while the litigation moves through Superior Court. The district recently appointed Gary McDonald as superintendent amid the expanding controversy.

Yaiser says he documented 95 efforts to raise the OCVTS complaints.
His tally covers June 2024 through June 2025 and includes correspondence with officials and appearances before the Ocean County Board of Commissioners.

Criminal cases against former teachers do not prove an institutional cover-up.
Former OCVTS teachers have faced prosecution, but allegations that administrators concealed misconduct or retaliated against whistleblowers remain unproven.

State and federal scrutiny has been reported, but no broader charges have been announced.
Shore News Network has reported contacts involving the FBI and alleged state scrutiny, but no criminal case against OCVTS administrators over an alleged cover-up has been publicly filed.

Sources: Robert Yaiser correspondence and interview; Shore News Network OCVTS/FBI investigation report; Shore News Network report on alleged state investigation; Ocean County independent investigation report; Sinnott investigation report; Ocean County Superior Court filings; New Jersey Attorney General’s Office