Middle school teacher accused in Atlantic City prostitution-related robbery — judge taken aback by what she tells court

A New Jersey middle school teacher was arrested for allegedly helping to rob a man during a prostitution-related encounter at an Atlantic City casino hotel.

NJ.com reported that 35-year-old Amanda R. Crafts of Wildwood was arrested Oct. 9 and charged with robbery and conspiracy.

'I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

NJ.com added that Crafts at the time of her arrest was still listed as a computer teacher at Middle Township Middle School in Cape May County on the district website.

Middle Township Public Schools Superintendent Stephanie DeRose said in a letter to families and staff on Oct. 15 that an employee had been arrested.

"Based on the information available to us, the charges are unrelated to the individual's performance or responsibilities as an employee of Middle Township School District, and the event occurred outside of Cape May County," the letter read.

DeRose stressed that the charges "do not involve any alleged threat, inappropriate behavior, or misconduct occurring within our schools or involving our students."

Atlantic City Police accused Crafts of conspiring with 23-year-old Veda J. Engel of Cape May to rob a man.

Breaking AC obtained the affidavits of probable cause that said a man met Crafts and Engel at a bar at Caesars Atlantic City hotel and casino.

The man told police that he exchanged phone numbers with Engel, who later called him to meet up with the women in their hotel room at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City around 1:30 a.m., according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said Engel performed sex acts on the man.

The criminal complaint claims Crafts held down the alleged victim as Engel used facial recognition on his cell phone to make four transactions totaling $1,250 through Apple Pay to her account.

"That’s what you get for $1,250," Engel told the man, according to the affidavit.

The alleged victim said the transactions were "made without his consent in exchange for sexual acts," a detective wrote in the affidavit.

Engel was arrested and charged with robbery, conspiracy, and engaging in prostitution.

Fox News reported that last year Engel allegedly offered sex in exchange for $1,000 to an undercover New Jersey State Police detective at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

Engel and Crafts were both released from jail but are required to check in with the court every other week, according to Breaking AC.

Both defendants are barred from having contact with each other or the alleged victim.

Breaking AC reported that Crafts during her detention hearing told Judge Christine Smith, "I'm a teacher."

The judge replied, "You’re a teacher?"

Crafts, a mother of four children, nodded and responded, "I'm a teacher."

Judge Smith asked, "Do you know if you can go back to work?"

Crafts said, "I don't know. I have to make union contact tomorrow when I get released."

Middle Township School District announced Oct. 19 that a teacher "is no longer employed by the district."

RELATED: Female Christian school teacher accused of grooming teen softball player — mom intervened, but contact continued, cops say

Image source: Middle Township (N.J.) Public Schools

"While we recognize the importance of transparency, employee privacy laws and district policies limit the personnel information we can share," the school district said in a letter to parents. "We also cannot comment on the details of an ongoing criminal case or its legal outcome."

During an Oct. 10 video hearing, Crafts told the judge: "I've never been to jail. I've never been arrested before. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," according to Breaking AC.

Crafts' attorney, Charles Peruto Jr., told the New York Post that his client is "highly intelligent and wouldn’t participate in anything like that. She was in the room and wanted to leave and didn’t even realize it was a prostitution thing. She is mortified."

The attorney added, "Maybe the prostitute took advantage of him, but my client had nothing to do with it."

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