Shaun Burtchaell Stebbins at his detention hearing April 6, 2026.
A Somers Point man accused of sexually assaulting four children for more than a decade will stay jailed.
Shaun Burtchell Stebbins, 43, worked as a pre-kindergarten teacher's aide at Woodbine Elementary School, where he was named Paraprofessional of the Year for 2024-2025.
None of the current charges include students, although there is concern there are other victims who have not yet come forward.
It is especially troubling to the state since the allegations include the assaults started when some of the children were about 5 or 6 years old.
"We are deeply concerned that there may be additional victims, particularly given the defendant’s access to children through his employment," Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said Friday, as to why his office was announcing these "heinous crimes."
Stebbins appeared in court Monday via video from the Atlantic County Justice Facility, where he consented to detention due to the multiple charges against him.
His public defender said a new hearing may be requested after they get more evidence.
That evidence may include whatever is in electronic devices seized as part of the investigation.
Assistant Prosecutor Jasmine Ostrow said they were requesting Stebbins provide passcodes to those devices.
She also told the judge that if the defense had not consented to detention, that she would have asked for a postponement to the hearing for ongoing investigation. It was not clear if that was related to the devices or if the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office has been notified of other possible victims.
BreakingAC previously withheld Stebbins' relationship to the victims, until their father came forward to speak out about the allegations.
"(Two) weeks ago my youngest son sends me a text that would turn my world upside down," the father wrote. "I call him and speak to him. After we hung up, I called my oldest to go to the house and talk to him and confirmed the same thing that his so-called uncle had been doing things to him since he was 5 and he was having problems dealing with it, so he had the courage to speak up."
The Egg Harbor Township man then had his children gather at home, and listened as four of the five detailed sexual abuse at the hands of their now-deceased uncle's husband. Three are now adults.
"As my son is telling his siblings what happened, my youngest daughter spoke up about her own dealings with him followed by my other (two) kids," the post continues.
It is the series of events also outlined in the affidavit of probable cause previously reported by BreakingAC that the investigation began after a teenage victim disclosed the abuse last week, leading three now-adult victims to detail their own allegations going as far back as 2012.
Burtchell Stebbins' expression did not change as Superior Court Judge Dorothy Garrabrant read from the four affidavits of probable cause, detailing disturbing allegations of sexual abuse that included forced sex acts, along with sharing of and creating of child sexual assault materials, commonly referred to as child pornography.
The allegations of abuse portrayed them as continual acts that include twice weekly or more.
The family had been staying in the Somers Point home Burtchell Stebbins and his husband then shared.
Burtchell Stebbins answered only, "Yes, your honor" or "No, your honor" to questions from the judge Monday.
He also was informed that all four victims were granted SOROs, or sexual offender restraining orders, which prohibit him from any contact with the four siblings or family members, including written or through a third party.
Stebbins has been in the Atlantic County Justice Facility since Somers Point police arrested him last Sunday. He now will remain there pending either the outcome of his case or a successful reopening of a detention hearing.
