Former Teacher and Basketball Coach Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault

A former Trenton teacher and basketball coach pleaded guilty this week to the sexual assault of a student, Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey reported.

Darrell R. Moody, 52, of Plainfield, NJ, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual assault before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert E. Lytle on May 19, 2026.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, the state will recommend Moody be sentenced to five years in state prison subject to the No Early Release Act and required to undergo an evaluation at the state Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenal.  He will also be sentenced to parole supervision for life and will have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.  Additionally, Moody will surrender any teaching certifications he possesses and forfeit public employment.  

In May 2024, the victim contacted Trenton police to report incidents of sexual assault that began when the victim was in middle school.  A joint investigation with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit commenced.  Detectives learned that the victim met Moody when Moody was teaching fifth grade at Parker Elementary School.  Moody sexually assaulted the victim over the course of several years beginning in middle school and continuing to high school.  During that time, Moody was also coaching basketball at Joyce Kilmer Middle School.

At the time of his plea, Moody admitted that between September 2013 and February 2014, he was a teacher at Parker Elementary School, and he engaged in sexual contact with the victim on numerous dates when the victim was his student.  

Moody is also pending sentencing in a June 2023 Middlesex County case where he was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree solicitation of a minor for prostitution.

Senior Assistant Prosecutor Timothy P. McCann represented the state.  Moody is scheduled to be sentenced on September 4, 2026.