A longtime New Jersey high school teacher is accused of using Facebook to proposition one of his students for sex, offering money in return.
Thomas Weir, a New York resident who teaches at John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson, N.J., was arrested on Saturday in the parking lot of a restaurant where he thought he'd be meeting the student, NBC News reports.
The 50-year-old, who has been employed by the local school board for more than 20 years, allegedly contacted the student on the social network and offered $50 for a sexual encounter.
"The student had a Facebook account and the teacher had a Facebook account. He used the Facebook instant messaging application to contact the student and to entice him to go to a location where he was willing to pay him money for sexual relations," Joseph Del Russo, the Assistant Chief Prosecutor for Passaic County, told CBS News.
An investigation by the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office and the county sheriff led to Weir in the unidentified parking lot. He was arrested and charged with attempted sexual assault, attempted child welfare endangerment, luring and enticing a child and official misconduct, according to CBS News.
He faces a maximum of 40 years in jail if convicted, PIX 11 reports.