WAYNE — A 21-year-old substitute teacher was accused this week of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old Manchester Regional High School student, authorities said.

Linda Hardan, 21, of Prospect Park was charged Friday with second-degree sexual assault, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact in connection with the sexual assault, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said in a news release.

The alleged sexual assault occurred in Wayne on Thursday, Valdes said. Hardan, who worked as a substitute teacher, was charged the next day following an investigation by the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit, she said.

Manchester Regional High School Principal Richard Ney said Hardan was an employee of the Passaic County Education Services Commission, not the school district. Hardan worked at MRHS about a half dozen times and was serving as a substitute this past week for one the school's science teachers, he said.

"We are disappointed to learn that someone who occasionally worked as a substitute at the school engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a student," Ney added.

Bail for Hardan was set at $250,000 with no 10-percent option, according to Passaic County Jail records.

The gender of the student wasn't identified in the news release, but a report on Northjersey.com said the student was male.

Hardan faces a maximum prison term of up to 10 years on the sexual assault charge, up to five years on the endangering charge and up to 18 months on the criminal sexual contact charge, Valdes said.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

