Phys ed. teacher pleads guilty to affair with student
Colonia man could face up to three years in prison, will lose teaching certification
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
A38-year-old Colonia Middle School physical education teacher and former Colonia High School junior varsity soccer coach pleaded guilty to official misconduct in the third degree on May 22, admitting that he had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student.

Craig Yarnall, of Colonia, who is married and is a former World Natural Body Building Federation professional body builder, admitted in court that he began engaging in a sexual relationship with the teenage student in April 2007, when she was 16 years old, and the relationship continued until a police officer caught them on Jan. 27, 2008.

The plea agreement was reached during negotiations between Yarnall's attorney, Joseph Benedict of New Brunswick, and Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Christie Bevacqua.

Under the plea agreement, Yarnall could face a maximum of three years in prison, he will have to forfeit his teaching certificate, have no contact with the victim, and have no unsupervised contact with anybody under 18 years old with the exception of his children, authorities said.

Bevacqua added that the victim found the agreement acceptable.

State Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa, sitting in New Brunswick, will sentence Yarnall on July 18. He remains free on $150,000 bail.

In exchange for the guilty plea, the count of official misconduct was downgraded from a second-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree misdemeanor and the count of sexual assault will be dismissed. By pleading guilty, Yarnall avoided trial and a maximum prison term of 10 years.

The police investigation began after Police Officer Dennis Benigno, while conducting a check of Merrill Park in Iselin, noticed two suspicious vehicles parked in a dark section of the park on Jan. 27. Upon further investigation, Benigno found Yarnall with the 17-yearold female student in one of the vehicles, a 2006 Dodge Ram, and referred the matter to the detective bureau for further investigation, authorities said.

Yarnall began his employment with the Woodbridge Township school district as an adaptive physical education teacher in September 2003. In that position, Yarnall taught physical education to special education students at Colonia Middle School, Iselin Middle School, Woodbridge Middle School and John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Iselin, authorities said.

In September 2005, Yarnall began his current position as a physical education teacher at Colonia Middle School. For a year (September 2005 to September 2006), Yarnall served as a junior varsity soccer coach with the Colonia High School girls soccer team, authorities said.