[UPDATE BELOW] A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a fellow student in the classroom of a Bronx charter school on Tuesday.
19-year-old Kevin Simpson, a senior at The Bronx Preparatory High School in the South Bronx, was arrested yesterday on rape and sexual abuse charges after the unidentified victim told authorities he forced himself on her while she was waiting for a tutor in a classroom at around 10:30 a.m. that day. Simpson had allegedly forced the victim to perform oral sex on him several times prior to Tuesday's reported rape, though the Post reports that she had, on those occasions, done so willingly.
The victim reported the rape to a friend, who then got school authorities involved. The school contacted the police, and Simpson was arrested Wednesday night. He has been charged with first- and third-degree rape, first- and third-degree sexual abuse, third-degree criminal sex act, sexual misconduct and forcible touching. Simpson has reportedly been arrested on charges including assaulting a court officer, riot, disorderly conduct and weapons possession.
The Bronx Preparatory High School is a charter school that was taken over by Democracy Prep Public Schools over the summer. Democracy Prep Public Schools has not responded to our request for comment, though a spokesperson told the Daily News, "We are in close contact with her family and giving them all the support and resources at our disposal. The safety of our students is our paramount concern."
Update 1:50 p.m.: A spokesperson from Democracy Prep Public Schools offered us the following statement:
A Bronx Prep High School student was arrested Wednesday night and has been charged with first-degree rape. We reported the alleged crime immediately to the New York City Police Department and are cooperating fully as they investigate. The victim is one of our students. This morning we spoke with the young woman's mother again offering our support and resources. We alerted all Bronx Prep parents last night about the incident. We are meeting with all our students through out the day, explaining what happened and talking [sic] their questions. At this point, the safety of our students is our urgent concern and trying to create normalcy in the building so they can continue to learn and grow as scholars.
