Ethical Community Charter School

“Fourth fondling charge lodged against Jersey City LEGOs master whotaught afterschool program.” The Jersey Journal (NJ), 11/8/2010

The Jersey City man who taught a LEGOs afterschool activity at a number of Hudson County schools has been charged in a fourth fondling case in connection with a class, officials said today.

Accused child molester Eric Sophie, 40, of Newport Parkway, was charged this weekend with sexual assault by contact, child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor John Mulkeen said. The prosecutor did not provide the age of the child, nor say where the alleged abuse occurred.

Sophie was first arrested Wednesday, accused with molesting two 5-year-old girls and an 8-year-old girl. He was charged then with three counts each of sexual assault by contact, child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, officials said.

Mulkeen said those alleged incidents occurred in Jersey City and Hoboken.

Sophie, who calls himself "Legomaster" on his MySpace.com page, ran an after-school program at Ethical Community Charter School on Broadway in Jersey City. The school opened in September 2009 and currently has three grades, kindergarten through second grade. The principal told The Jersey Journal that his services were terminated following his arrest and also said he had passed a background check before he was hired.

The school sent out a letter to parents saying the person who led the LEGO program had been arrested, adding that more information was available by calling the principal or the Hudson County Prosecutor's Special Victims Unit.

Prosecutors have not identified other schools where Sophie worked.

Mulkeen, a team leader in the prosecutor's office's Special Victims Unit, said investigators conducted numerous interviews over the weekend and the investigation could last weeks or months...