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Paulsboro teacher charged in luring teen

A Paulsboro High School science teacher was arrested at the school this week and charged with luring and enticing a 17-year-old girl, authorities said Thursday.

A Paulsboro High School science teacher was arrested at the school this week and charged with luring and enticing a 17-year-old girl, authorities said Thursday.

Michael Furey, 46, of West Deptford, created a MySpace profile page pretending to be a 16-year-old boy, the Gloucester County's Prosecutor's Office said. He arranged an encounter with the girl, who was one of his students, after talking to her online for six months in a conversation that grew increasingly sexual, the Prosecutor's Office said.

The girl recognized Furey when the two met June 3 in Paulsboro, authorities said. She talked with him briefly, left, and told her mother, who called Paulsboro police. He was arrested Wednesday.

Furey, who posted $50,000 bail, has been suspended with pay by the Paulsboro School District pending investigation and court proceedings. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

"There has to be some kind of mistake," said Jennifer Lovell-Furey, 40, who was married to Furey for 17 years. "I have known him since I was 16 years old. I just can't see him doing this."

Fury has taught at Paulsboro since 2001 and before that taught at Willingboro High School for more than a decade, she said.

Paulsboro police and the Gloucester County Prosecutor's High-Tech Crimes Unit-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force were involved in the investigation, which included examining Furey's computer, officials said.