After-school abuse scandal deepens as another child comes forward in new N.J. lawsuit
An Englewood after-school counselor accused of sexually abusing children is facing a new lawsuit from a boy’s family, months after a judge approved a $1.675 million settlement involving another child in the city’s aftercare program.
The latest lawsuit, filed Oct. 12 in Bergen County Superior Court, alleges Johnathan P. Jones repeatedly sexually abused a 10-year-old boy while city and school officials failed to protect him.
The boy and his parents named Jones, the city of Englewood, the Englewood Public School District Board of Education and Dr. Leroy McCloud Elementary School as defendants.
Representatives for the city and district did not respond to requests for comment.
Attorney information for Jones was not listed in civil court documents. New Jersey Superior Court records show criminal cases remain pending against Jones after he was charged in December 2023 with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault by sexual contact, and endangering the welfare of a child.
The child attended the SunFun at McCloud after-school program in 2023, according to the complaint.
Jones used his position as a counselor to gain the boy’s trust, referring to himself as the child’s “best friend” during months of grooming that preceded the alleged assaults, the lawsuit says.
Beginning in September 2023, Jones repeatedly forced the boy to sit on his lap and subjected him to sexual contact through their clothing during the program, the suit says.
The boy disclosed the alleged abuse to his parents on Dec. 5, 2023, after reading a news article about accusations that Jones had sexually assaulted another child in the program, the lawsuit says.
Believing the article was about him, the child reluctantly told his parents what had happened, according to the complaint.
His parents immediately contacted Englewood police, who referred the family to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. The boy and his parents were subsequently interviewed by investigators with the office’s Special Victims Unit, the lawsuit says.
An assistant prosecutor told the family the criminal case against Jones involved three children, including their son, according to the complaint.
The family alleges city and school officials failed to adequately screen, train, supervise and monitor Jones and other employees responsible for children in the program.
Employees knew or should have known about the alleged grooming and abuse but failed to report it or intervene, the complaint contends.
The family also alleges the district failed to establish adequate safeguards and train staff to recognize and respond to signs of child sexual abuse.
The boy has experienced panic attacks, anxiety, depression, nightmares, insomnia and physical symptoms, including stomach pain and heart palpitations, according to the lawsuit.
He has required extensive therapy, and the alleged abuse has affected his education and sense of safety at school, the complaint says.
The lawsuit comes after a separate case involving a child who was 9 and enrolled in an aftercare program operated by the Englewood Parks and Recreation Department in September 2023.
In that case, filed July 25, 2025, the family alleged the department’s then-director hired Jones, a relative, as an aide without performing a background check.
The lawsuit accused the director of failing to protect children and alleged Jones repeatedly sexually assaulted the child. The director was charged in 2024, with three counts of child endangerment for hiring Jones, according to the earlier lawsuit and municipal court records.
On July 22, 2026, a judge approved payments of $1.575 million to the child’s legal guardian on the child’s behalf and $100,000 on the guardian’s individual claim, for a combined settlement of $1.675 million.
The latest lawsuit includes claims of sexual abuse, negligence, sex discrimination and emotional distress. It seeks to hold the city and school defendants responsible for their employees’ conduct.
The family is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, legal fees and a jury trial.
Such lawsuits should help more than anything else to reduce the number of men being hired as child care-givers; a reckless thing that this blog has pointed out dozens of times.
Boston dad convicted of sexually abusing teen girl on flight while traveling with wife and 4 kids
By Zoe Hussain, US News
Published Oct. 22, 2026
Updated Oct. 22, 2026, 5:56 p.m. ET
A Boston dad has been convicted of repeatedly fondling a teen girl aboard a JetBlue flight — while on the plane with his wife and four kids.
Jonathan Alan Lefman, 48, was found guilty after a three-day jury trial of sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl seated in front of him on a Boston-bound flight from Puerto Rico on Aug. 30, 2024, the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced on Thursday.
Lefman was sitting next to his 16-year-old son when he repeatedly wedged his hand between the back and bottom of the seat in front of him to touch the girl’s buttocks without her permission, according to prosecutors.
The teen girl saw the creep dad’s reflection leaning between the seats in the seatback monitor in front of her, and was able to take a picture of his fingers protruding between the back and bottom of her seat, officials said.
Lefman was travelling with his wife and four kids, with his then-16-year-old son sat to the left of him while he fondled the girl, according to an affidavit in support of an application for a criminal complaint.
After getting off the plane, one of the girl’s adult female family members who was traveling in a different row confronted Lefman and reported his perverse behavior to a JetBlue supervisor — showing a video of his fingers as evidence.
Lefman, who lives in a $2.3 million home in Newton, claimed he had been stretching and apologized. When confronted with whether his fingers captured on camera were familiar, he told investigators, “Not really, no.”
He was found guilty of one count of abusive sexual contact while in the special aircraft jurisdiction. He is slated to be sentenced on Jan. 12, 2027.
He faces up to two years in prison, five years to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
“The defendant repeatedly sexually abused a minor who was simply trying to travel safely aboard a commercial flight,” US Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement.
Missouri neurosurgeon convicted of sexually assaulting woman, 20, in ‘despicable’ attack in Scottish nightclub
Camilo Molina, 40, will spend two years in prison in Scotland for his appalling actions at a club in Royal Exchange Square – located in the heart of Glasgow – called Kong on April 5, 2025.
The married sex predator approached the victim, 20, from behind, put his hand under her denim skirt and touched her inappropriately, police said, according to The Herald.
Prosecutors said Molina pretended to be a police officer when he first approached the woman, but he denied this in court during his sentencing on Oct. 21, per the outlet.
“Molina sexually assaulted the woman, a complete stranger to him, in a busy bar in what can only be described as a despicable attack. He now faces the consequences of his actions,” Glasgow Sheriff’s Office Detective Inspector Holly Swindells said.
“The woman showed great courage and strength by reporting what happened to her and throughout the legal process. I hope the outcome from court provides her with some form of justice.”
Molina is a former associate professor at WashU in St. Louis. He was a spine-fellow-trained neurosurgeon who ran his own lab for the prestigious college’s school of medicine.
According to his professional profile, he specialized in spine diseases and was researching technologies to make spinal procedures less invasive.
“He was a leader on the clinical design team that ultimately led to the FDA approval and performance of the first augmented reality-mediated spine procedures in the United States,” the profile reads.
Molina, a US citizen who was born in Colombia, was attending a conference in Glasgow when he carried out the disgusting assault, prosecutors said.
He no longer works at WashU and has lost his medical license, according to The Herald and the university.
Molina, who’s been placed on the sex offenders registry in Scotland for 10 years, still has the support of his wife, he claimed in court.
The couple lived together in a stunning nearly $2 million mansion in St. Louis, according to public records.
Molina’s defense attorney John Scullion claimed in court that “the incident in the nightclub happened after many hours of drinking.”
“I do not suggest this as mitigation or a way of an excuse but it perhaps provides some explanation for an event that otherwise would be out of character,” Scullion said, The Herald reported.
He also said this was Molina’s first criminal offense.
“Mr. Molina worked really hard and established himself as one of the top surgeons in the country in an extremely complex field. He saved many lives by undertaking complex surgery that others would deem impossible,” he said.
“The consequences of his conviction have been catastrophic as he has resigned from the Washington University Hospital and his licence to practise medicine has been revoked.”
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