MLK High freshman suspended after alleged attempted rape

A freshman at Martin Luther King High School was recently suspended after he allegedly attempted to rape a female student inside a classroom after school, according to officials with the Philadelphia School District.

At around 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 20, the 17-year-old suspect allegedly forced the 16-year-old victim into the room, pulled down her pants and placed his genitalia on her buttocks, according to police.

The victim then pushed the male off of her and told a counselor about the incident.

Capt. John Darby, who heads the Special Victims Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department, would only say that there was “some contact” between the two students, who knew one another.

“The investigation is very much active as we speak,” he said.

District response

District spokesman Fernando Gallard, said there was “no sexual contact between the students,” adding that the male student will remain suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

Gallard said the students were at the West Oak Lane school to participate in Northwest Regional Talent Center activities.

The free afterschool program, administered by the district, is offered to all Philadelphia students — public school or otherwise — in grades 6-12.

He said the students were somehow able to walk away from the program and find an unlocked classroom. All classrooms, he noted, are supposed to be locked during program hours.

“I guess [the cleaning crew] left one room unlocked for whatever reason,” he said.

The male student has not been arrested or charged in connection to the incident