Shaun Burtchaell Stebbins is shown at his detention hearing April 6, 2026.
Authorities are investigating reports of alleged abuse at a Cape May County elementary school following the arrest of a teacher’s aide on sexual assault charges in Atlantic County.
Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland announced Friday that the investigation is connected to the arrest of 43-year-old Shaun Burtchaell Stebbins, who was employed by the Woodbine Elementary School as a pre-kindergarten teacher's aide.
“The Cape May County investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement is working diligently to gather all relevant information to ensure a thorough investigation is completed regarding any allegations of abuse,” Sutherland said in a news release.
The Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance. Anyone who may have information related to any incidents at the school is strongly encouraged to come forward, Sutherland said.
“The safety and well-being of our community, especially our children, remains our highest priority,” he said.
Sutherland’s office and the New Jersey State Police are jointly investigating reports of alleged abuse at the Woodbine School. No further details are being released at this time while the investigation continues.
During his employment at the Woodbine Elementary School, Stebbins was named Paraprofessional of the Year for 2024-2025.
Stebbins lives in Somers Point. He is accused of sexually assaulting his niece and three nephews for more than a decade in Atlantic County and remains in jail.
None of the charges in Atlantic County include students, although there is concern there are other victims who have not yet come forward, prosecutors say.
It is especially troubling to the state since the sexual assaults allegedly started when some of the children were about 5 or 6 years old, Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said.
“We are deeply concerned that there may be additional victims, particularly given the defendant’s access to children through his employment,” Reynolds said in a statement on April 3.
Shaun Stebbins was honored by the Woodbine Elementary School in December 2024. The Facebook post is shown edited to remove the name of a teacher who also was honored.Stebbins appeared in court on April 6 via video from the Atlantic County Justice Facility, where he consented to detention due to the multiple charges against him.
His public defender said a new hearing may be requested after they get more evidence.
BreakingAC previously withheld Stebbins' relationship to the victims, until their father came forward to speak out about the allegations.
"(Two) weeks ago my youngest son sends me a text that would turn my world upside down," the father wrote in a Facebook post. "I call him and speak to him. After we hung up, I called my oldest to go to the house and talk to him and confirmed the same thing that his so-called uncle had been doing things to him since he was 5 and he was having problems dealing with it, so he had the courage to speak up."
The Egg Harbor Township man then had his children gather at home and listened as four of the five detailed sexual abuse at the hands of their now-deceased uncle's husband. Three are now adults.
"As my son is telling his siblings what happened, my youngest daughter spoke up about her own dealings with him followed by my other (two) kids," his Facebook post continues.
It is the series of events also outlined in the affidavit of probable cause previously reported by BreakingAC that the investigation began after a teenage victim disclosed the abuse in March, leading three now-adult victims to detail their own allegations going as far back as 2012.
Stebbins was informed that all four victims were granted SOROs, or sexual offender restraining orders, which prohibit him from any contact with the four siblings or family members, including written or through a third party.
He has been held in the Atlantic County Justice Facility since Somers Point police arrested him. He will remain there pending either the outcome of his case or a successful reopening of a detention hearing.
Anyone with information related to the investigation may contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135 or may submit an anonymous tip through the Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpo.tips.
