Former Morris Catholic HS coach charged with sexual assault of two minor girls

By William Westhoven
Morristown Daily Record
March 08, 2020

https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/morris/2020/03/08/morris-catholic-coach-charged-sex-assault/4994978002/

Three Rahway men have been arrested and cocaine, heroin and cash were seized drug the execution of a search warrant at a Fulton Avenue address.

A former Morris Catholic High School volleyball coach was charged with aggravated sexual abuse of two minor female students between 2015 and 2019, Morris County prosecutors announced Sunday.

Carlos A. Franco-Leon, 42, of Rockaway Township was taken to the Morris County Correctional Facility to await a court hearing on six first-degree counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor.

He is alleged to have committed sexual acts on female students known to him while he was working as a teacher and volleyball coach at Morris Catholic in Denville.

Franco-Leon left Morris Catholic in 2018, prosecutors say. He later became the varsity girls volleyball coach at Roselle Catholic High School in Union County.

"The Archdiocese of Newark and Roselle Catholic immediately suspended [Franco-Leon] when we were alerted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office this morning about his arrest," diocese spokeswoman Maria Margiotta said.

School officials spent Sunday alerting staff and parents about the allegations.

"This is certainly of immense concern," Margiotta said. "The safety of our students and our faithful is of paramount importance, and providing a safe school environment for the students placed in our care remains a priority."

Calls for comment to Morris Catholic, which is in the Diocese of Paterson, were not immediately returned.

Anyone with information about Leon is encouraged to call the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-6200 or the Denville Police Department at 973-627-4900.