New Jersey teacher sues student for $1 Million for sharing explicit images from his private Instagram account

A New Jersey school teacher has filed a $1 million libel and defamation lawsuit against a student and her family, alleging that the student shared explicit photos from his private Instagram account. PEOPLE obtained a copy of the lawsuit filed by Daniel Torsiello, a history teacher at Central Regional High School. The defendant allegedly shared screenshots of the images with other students, leading school officials to place Torsiello on administrative leave. He also serves as the girls’ basketball and boys’ volleyball coach at the school.

Two weeks after being placed on leave, the lawsuit claims, "additional developments across social media revealed posts, comments, photographs, videos, screenshots, shares, and related content that falsely and maliciously alleged Torsiello was in an inappropriate relationship with a student at Central," according to PEOPLE.

The lawsuit also revealed that Torsiello now faces the risk of losing his position as the women’s volleyball coach at a local community college near his home in Toms River.

What Allegations Does the Student Defendant Face?

In the lawsuit, the student defendant is accused of distributing explicit photos of Torsiello to other students after he granted her access to the girls’ basketball team’s Instagram account to post updates.

The teacher alleges that the student used this access to infiltrate his personal Instagram account, which he acknowledges contained explicit images of himself and other consenting adults.

According to the lawsuit, the student then took screenshots of these photos and of private conversations Torsiello had with other adults and began sharing them with students. On March 9, 2026, Torsiello's counsel issued a notice letter to the defendant and her family, which PEOPLE obtained.

What Did the Teacher Demand From the Student?

That notice letter requested: an "immediate written retraction and public correction" from the student to clarify that she has no evidence of any sexual misconduct between the teacher and a student; "identification of all individuals to whom the screenshots were distributed"; the "immediate removal" of any screenshots or reposts within the student's control; "written confirmation that no further dissemination will occur"; and monetary compensation for Torsiello's "lost income and reputational harm."

In the letter, Joshua P. Cittadino, Torsiello's attorney, wrote, "These private communications, which were unrelated to school activities and did not involve any students whatsoever, were deliberately and maliciously screenshot[ted], disseminated among students with the intent of harming Mr. Torsiello's reputation, and ultimately circulated publicly." As of May 2, the defendants had neither responded to nor acknowledged the notice letter, according to the lawsuit.