Middle Township School District Fires Computer Teacher After Atlantic City Casino Incident
Amanda Crafts, who taught computers at Middle Township Middle School, was terminated two weeks after her arrest in a $1,250 scheme involving a restrained victim.
By David Almasi ·
A middle school district in New Jersey removed a computer teacher from payroll two weeks after her arrest in an alleged casino hotel scheme. Amanda Crafts, 35, of Wildwood Crest, was the educator charged in the incident that occurred on Oct. 9 in Atlantic City.
Police reports state that a male victim met Crafts and her friend, Veda Engel, 23, at a hotel bar. The two women took him to their room where, according to the complaint, they stripped him and held him down on a bed. Engel performed sexual acts on the victim before demanding payment.
The victim was robbed of $1,250 during the incident. Engel used the victim’s facial recognition to unlock his phone and completed four Apple Pay transactions to her account. A detective noted in the affidavit that these transfers happened without the victim’s consent. Engel told the victim, “That’s what you get for $1,250,” according to the complaint.
Crafts appeared before Judge Timothy Maguire via video from the Atlantic County Justice Facility. She informed the court that she teaches computers in the special area department at Middle Township Middle School and has four children. She stated she had no prior arrests and described her role in the event by saying, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The school district confirmed Crafts’ termination in a statement released on Oct. 19. Superintendent Stephanie DeRose said the district’s responsibility is to protect students and ensure employees meet expected standards. The statement emphasized that the safety and well-being of students remain the highest priority.
Engel, who works for a commercial cleaning company in Ocean City, was also released from custody on Oct. 15 after being held for nearly a week. She has a prior record involving a prostitution charge from last year at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. Both women were granted pretrial release with a requirement to check in with the court every other week.
The incident has drawn attention to the quick dismissal of an educator following criminal charges. Crafts’ LinkedIn profile identified her as a computer teacher, a role she held until the Oct. 19 termination. The district’s actions followed the Oct. 9 arrest by nearly a month, aligning with the timeline of the police investigation and court appearances.
