| August 9, 2005 Teacher Allegedly Stalked Student Over 4 Years Teen Says Teacher Wrote Her Letters, Made CDs MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A former student teacher at Neshaminy Middle School is charged with stalking and harassing a female student. Police said that James Minetola, 25, tormented Joscelyne Jones for more than four years. Jones, 18, said that she had no idea that Minetola had been allegedly pining away for her all these years. "When we went to the police and the sergeant got to interviewing him, that's when he said he was in love with me, and that's, like, when I said, 'Wow,'" Jones said. Jones said that after finding out about Minetola, she was constantly looking over her shoulder. "It is scary because there are times when I'm going to work, I'm by myself, walking through parking lots, wondering, 'Is he looking for me? Is he here?' Jones said. Jones was 14 years old when Minetola allegedly fell in love with her at the Neshaminy Middle School. Jones said that Minetola was transferred out of her class and later fired because he visited her in the lunchroom instead of teaching his class. But Jones said had no idea she was the object of his affections until the next year, when an acquaintance handed her a pile of letters and CDs from Minetola. "I read one with my friend in Spanish class and I was, like, "Oh my gosh,' because it was saying really crude stuff in it and saying, like, 'I love you, we're going to get married, we're going to have children,' and I was just, like, 'Wow,'" Jones said. "They were aware of this and they just never let us know," said Kelly Jones, Joscelyne Jones' mother. Kelly Jones remains frustrated with the school for not informing her of the potential danger to her daughter, especially after what happened a couple of weeks ago. Minetola showed up at the Joneses' front door at 10 p.m. "He was scary. He was just walking and pacing and he looked very distraught. He kept going over and over again that he wanted some kind of closure," Kelly Jones said. The Jones family thought the stalking ended three years ago, but they said they learned later that Minetola allegedly had been watching Joscelyne at church. "What is he able to do? What's his next thing? Is this enough? Is he going to be back? What?" Kelly Jones said. NBC 10 News tried to contact Minetola, but nobody answered the door at the home. Copyright 2005 by NBC10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast http://www.nbc10.com/news/4825407/detail.html?rss=phi&psp=news |