N.J. Teacher Todd Lewis Loses License After He’s Accused of Taping 9-Year-Old’s Head to Desk for Nearly an Hour
A former New Jersey elementary school teacher, identified by police as 58-year-old Todd Lewis, has surrendered his teaching licenses after being accused of taping a 9-year-old boy’s head to his desk as punishment. The child, a fourth-grade student, told investigators that his head and neck were secured to the desktop with masking tape for roughly 40 to 50 minutes while he was in class.
The alleged incident happened in early October 2024 at Lenox Elementary School in Wayne, New Jersey. At the time, Lewis was a teacher at the school, and his classroom aide, 68-year-old Sallyann Scala, was also present. Both Lewis and Scala were later arrested by Pompton Lakes Police.
Police say Lewis allegedly wrapped masking tape around the back of the student’s neck and attached it to the desk, effectively holding the child’s head down at the desk for an extended period of time. Investigators say the student reported that he couldn’t lift his head freely and that the tape kept him pinned there while class continued.
According to police, Scala did not intervene.
Lewis was charged with one count of second-degree child endangerment. Scala was charged with fourth-degree abuse and child neglect. Both were taken into custody in December following the investigation into what happened in the classroom.
Following his arrest, Lewis voluntarily gave up both of his active teaching licenses to the New Jersey State Board of Examiners. Records show he had been licensed in the state since the mid-2000s. By surrendering his certificates, he can no longer legally work as a teacher in New Jersey.
Police said at the time of charging that, if convicted, Lewis could face 5 to 10 years in state prison on the endangerment count. Scala, on her charge, could face up to 18 months. Neither Lewis nor Scala is currently in state custody, according to officials.
The classroom incident immediately set off anger among parents in the district and alarm among education officials statewide. Parents said they only learned the full details of what allegedly happened after police paperwork began circulating. Some parents described being physically sick when they read that a child’s head had reportedly been taped to a desk for nearly an hour while adults stood over him.
The school district has not publicly detailed disciplinary actions taken at the time, citing student privacy laws and the fact that this remains an active criminal matter. However, Lewis is no longer in the classroom, and his decision to surrender his credentials suggests he is out of the profession in New Jersey.
The police account describes a controlled, deliberate act — not a momentary outburst. That detail is one reason the case has drawn so much attention. According to the report, the taping was not seconds, it was tens of minutes. And the allegation that the aide was in the room, saw what was happening, and did not stop it, is at the center of why Scala herself was charged.
Investigators also noted that the student was 9 years old. At that age, fourth graders are old enough to understand humiliation, but still small enough to be physically overpowered easily, which is part of why the child endangerment charge in New Jersey is so serious.
The setting makes this even more intense: this wasn’t a hallway confrontation or a playground scuffle. This allegedly happened inside a classroom in an elementary school, at a desk where a kid is supposed to feel safe. Parents described that detail as “the part that won’t leave your head,” because it reframes the classroom from a learning space into, in their words, a place of control.
Police also arrested Scala, the classroom aide, on the accusation that she stood by during the taping and did nothing to protect the student. Her charge — abuse and neglect of a child — is built around a duty to act. Prosecutors in these types of cases often argue that an adult doesn’t have to be the one physically doing the harm to be criminally responsible. Standing there and letting it happen can be charged as abuse in itself.
The now-10-year-old student’s name has not been released publicly because he is a minor.
Pompton Lakes Police, who brought the case, said the accusations surfaced in late 2024, which quickly led to interviews with the student, the educator, support staff, and others. Detectives then gathered statements and contacted school officials in Wayne. The arrests of Lewis and Scala followed.
As part of its review, the state Board of Examiners moved forward with the licensing issue. In New Jersey, educators can have their licenses revoked, suspended, or be allowed to voluntarily surrender them. When a teacher voluntarily gives up a license under investigation, that typically means they are agreeing to stop teaching rather than fight the case in front of the board. That’s what happened here with Lewis.
Child advocates in the area say this case hits a specific parental fear: that a kid could be bullied or restrained by the very adults trusted to protect them, and that the child might be too scared in the moment to yell for help. They’re now asking districts to reinforce training about appropriate classroom management — and to make it easier for kids to report mistreatment without fear of being labeled a problem student.
As for the criminal case, both defendants are presumed not guilty unless convicted in court. Prosecutors have not said whether plea talks are underway or whether they plan to take the case to trial.
What happens next will likely include status hearings, discovery, and possibly expert testimony about acceptable classroom discipline versus criminal conduct. The question at the center is simple and brutal: was a 9-year-old boy’s head really taped to a desk for close to an hour, and if so, who is going to be held legally responsible for that?
