The lawyer representing a former New Jersey high school teacher charged with sexually assaulting six students between 2013 and 2014 says that a brain condition is responsible for her socially inappropriate behavior and inability to control impulses.
Nicole Dufault, 36, of Caldwell, was arrested last September and faces a 40-count indictment for aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child after she allegedly engaged in sexual activity with six Columbia High School students, at various times on school property and in her car.
Her attorney, Timothy Smith, claims that Dufault suffers from "frontal lobe syndrome," a condition that "has rendered her defenseless to overaggressive behavior," NJ.com reports.
Smith added that the former language arts teacher, a mother of two young sons, developed the condition following brain surgery after complications during her first pregnancy required a shunt and related apparatus to be installed in her brain.
Located above the eyes and behind the forehead, the frontal lobes regulate executive functions, such as reasoning and planning, and help manage emotional responses that keep us in accord with accepted social standards, according to the National Institute on Aging.
Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Gina Iosim, who is handling the case, responded to the planned defense with the following statement.
"All too often victims of sexual abuse are demonized by their abusers. It takes a tremendous amount of courage for a victim, especially a juvenile victim, to come forward knowing the stigma some in society place on victims of sexual abuse. We continue to prepare for trial so our juvenile victims may find the justice they are seeking."
At the time of the incidents in question, the students at the Maplewood, New Jersey, high school were between 14 and 15 years old.
Read more at NJ.com.