Branchburg teacher charged with distributing child abuse materials

BRANCHBURG — A Somerset County elementary school teacher has been accused of keeping and sharing child sex abuse materials.

Kenneth Vaughn, 34, of Peapack, was charged with second-degree distribution of child sexual abuse materials and third-degree possession of child sexual abuse materials.

Vaughn was arrested on Aug. 26 after detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and Somerville police carried out a search warrant on his vehicle and a residence.

Vaughn was a teacher in the Branchburg school district, Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald said.

Branchburg school administrators said Friday that he no longer worked in the district as of Friday.

Accusations involve files of sexual abuse and/or the exploitation of a minor via a social media and messaging platform, McDonald said.

The investigation was launched after State Police alerted the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office of a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Vaughn was approved as a fourth grade teacher at Stony Brook School in August 2023, according to Branchburg School Board records.

The school, on Cedar Grove Road, houses fourth and fifth graders.

It is one of three schools in the Branchburg district, which enrolls about 1,290 students.

NJ schools in Raritan, Branchburg dealing with staff arrests (Google Maps, Canva, Townsquare Media Illustration)

Teacher arrested worked just miles from accused school custodian

Just a day earlier in a district 10 miles away, a Hunterdon County school custodian was arrested on charges of possession of child sexual abuse materials and child endangerment.

Carlos E. Barraza, of Raritan Township, was arrested on Thursday.

Barraza was immediately removed from employment by Pritchard Custodial Services and from the Flemington-Raritan school district, school administrators said.