Everyone’s Focused on the Epstein Files. New Jersey’s “Hidden Files” Are Sitting in Plain Sight.

There’s no denying the public fascination with the ongoing release of materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his network — and rightly so, given the egregious harms involved. But that fixation should not drown out a crisis at home that is equally about child safety, institutional accountability, and public trust: historic and ongoing cases of sexual misconduct by adults entrusted with children’s well-being, particularly in New Jersey and right here in Union City.

The issue isn’t whether an incident happened years or decades ago. The issue is whether systems have protected children — or protected adults and institutions at the expense of kids.

Union City has documented cases showing how abuse can go unaddressed for decades

In Union City, New Jersey courts have recently ruled that the Union City Board of Education can be held liable for sexual abuse committed by a teacher-coach dating back to 2004. A judge denied the Board’s motion to dismiss, finding that the district could be held liable for negligence and for failing to act on rumors and warnings about inappropriate conduct. 

This is not an abstract legal theory. The case, Garcia v. Union City Board of Education, involves a former teacher and coach, Francisco Realpe, who was later convicted in connection with multiple sexual assaults involving students — including at least one in Union City in 2004. Notably, a 2025 summary judgment held the school district liable in part because administrators had actual knowledge of inappropriate relationships and failed to act. 

More recently, a former Union City public school student filed a lawsuit in 2025 alleging “repeated and extensive child sexual abuse” from 1994–2001 while the plaintiff was under the care of the district. 

These are not isolated, insignificant complaints. They suggest a pattern where allegations of sexual misconduct were known, alleged, and litigated decades later — precisely because victims often wait years to come forward, and because institutions too often treated complaints as a “personnel matter” rather than a public safety crisis.

Currently, Union City continues to face new allegations that have yet to be investigated by the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Union City isn’t alone — and the problem extends statewide

Union City is part of a broader New Jersey pattern where educators and school staff have faced allegations or convictions involving minors:

In Wall Township, a high school teacher was charged and later pled guilty in 2025 to sexual assault involving a student.  A teacher working at a school in Union City and West New York was arrested on sex crime charges tied to online contact with a minor.  Staff in Hudson County schools — including a charter school IT employee accused of exposing students to sexual conduct — have been arrested. 

These cases span recent years and, in some instances, trace alleged misconduct back decades — but all share a crucial commonality: they involve adults entrusted to educate or supervise children.

Laws and protections have changed — but enforcement and transparency lag

In 2018, New Jersey passed a law intended to prevent the so-called “pass the trash” phenomenon — where teachers with histories of sexual misconduct quietly move between districts without disclosure to the next employer. But the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) found that the law remains “insufficient and easily manipulated.” 

Meaningful transparency — where unions, administrators, and school boards fully document and disclose allegations to protect children — remains uneven.

Why “too old” should never mean “off limits”

A frequent response to allegations — whether in Union City or elsewhere — is that the conduct happened “a long time ago.” But that misses two critical truths:

Victims frequently delay disclosure, especially when threats, shame, or power imbalances are involved. Time does not erase risk — communities need to know whether harmful individuals continued to work with children after allegations, what responses institutions made (or failed to make), and whether patterns were ignored.

New Jersey itself has updated statutes of limitations to allow survivors to seek justice long after the fact, precisely because time should not protect offenders or institutions that enabled them. 

“No victim, no crime”, this police policy is so outdated and inaccurate.

The public deserves the facts — without shield or delay

Transparency is not about revenge. It’s about prevention, protection, and accountability.

If we want a safer future for New Jersey’s children, we must:

Release and review all records involving staff misconduct, including reports previously kept confidential as “personnel matters.” Audit compliance with mandatory reporting laws in school districts statewide. Ensure unions and administrators are not part of a culture that protects adults at the expense of children. Reinvestigate historical allegations where failure to act may have allowed harm to continue or go unreported.

The Epstein files are getting attention because people demanded it.

It’s time people demand the same transparency for our own communities — including Union City and all of New Jersey.

The cost of ignoring these issues is not abstract. It is generational trauma, institutional distrust, and real children left unprotected.

The files should be released — not to satisfy curiosity, but to protect our children.