Crime & Safety

Former Paramus Catholic Staffers Indicted On Sex Charges

Artur Sopel of River Edge and Michael Sumulikoski of Elmwood Park were arrested on alleged sexual misconduct during school trip to Europe.

A Bergen County Grand Jury returned a 25 count indictment Wednesday against former staffers Artur Sopel, 31, of River Edge and Michael Sumilikoski, 27, of Elmwood Park, authorities said.

The two men were on April 5, 2011 on charges that they engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct in with four teenage female students during a school trip to Europe.

The indictment charges Sopel with five counts of endangering the welfare of a child and 12 counts of sexual assault, which are second degree crimes each carrying a maximum term of 10 years in prison. He is also charged with two counts of witness tampering, a third degree crime carrying a maximum term of five years incarceration.

Find out what's happening in River Dellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sumilikoski's indictment includes three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and three counts of sexual assault, which are second degree crimes each carrying a maximum term of 10 years in prison.

Bergen County Judge Donald Venezia set bail for Sopel at $225,000 and for Sumulikowski at $50,000. Both have posted bail.

Find out what's happening in River Dellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The alleged incidents occured while Sopel and Sumilikoski were chaperoning a trip to Belgium and Germany in February 2010. Sopel engaged in sexual activities with two students and Sumilikoski did the same with another, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said.

Sopel allegedly implored two of the girls to withhold cooperation during the investigation.

After the initial allegations were reported, a fourth female victim alleged that she had engaged in sexual activities with Sopel in May 2010 when she was a student at .

Both have .


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.