Former Union County teacher faces sexual assault charge

A former Union County elementary school teacher is facing charges after authorities say he broke into a home near Monroe and sexually assaulted the woman who lives there.
 
Deputies arrested Joseph Pascarella, 39, after they said he went to the woman's house outside Monroe early Wednesday morning, broke in between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. and sexually assaulted her.

Court records show that Pascarella knew the woman, who had taken out a domestic violence protection order to keep him away.
 
Records show that the order was served in August at the school, five days before classes began.
 
A Union County spokeswoman said Pascarella had been with the district since 2006 and that he resigned in October. He was no longer teaching in the school system at the time of the reported assault.
 
Pascarella is still in the Union County jail, but an attorney who represented him on earlier charges said he should be presumed innocent until prosecutors get a chance to make their case.

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