The chief motivation of middle school guidance counselors is to equip students with the necessary skills to transition from childhood to adolescence as gracefully as possible. However, a 38-year-old North Plainfield, N.J. counselor is forfeiting his opportunity to aid in his pupils' development after committing insurance fraud and arson.
Kenyetta O'Bryant, a former adjunct professor who holds a doctorate, was working as a counselor at a Newark school when he clearly deviated from acceptable curricula. Motivated by greed, O'Bryant torched his pricey 2002 BMW -- for which he still owed $35,000, according to officials -- as well as a friend's ride in order to collect insurance money.
Six days after reporting his car stolen and promptly setting it ablaze, O'Bryant concocted a scheme with Terrance Wilkins, then principal of Red Bank Middle School, to destroy Wilkins' 2004 Acura. According to the prosecutor's office, Wilkins was trying to avoid paying $9,000 in mileage fees as his car's lease neared expiration. The charred Acura, which had been reported stolen, was later located in the parking lot of Newark's Barringer High School. After testifying against O'Bryant at trial, Wilkins entered into a pre-trial intervention program.
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