Thursday's arrest of a teacher from Long Island was made after he was accused of raping a student aged 15 in 2013. Authorities announced the arrest.
Timothy Harrison, a 38-year old teacher at Babylon High School, was also an assistant girls basketball and girls lacrosse coach at the school during the allegation. Rodney Harrison, Suffolk County Police Commissioner, stated Thursday at a news conference that Harrison was Timothy Harrison.
Harrison was charged with two counts each of rape in third degree and one of criminal sex acts in third degree.
According to a police news release, administrators from Babylon Union Free School District reached out to Suffolk County police October 2021 about allegations of misconduct involving district employees. The department's special victim section was contacted to initiate an investigation.
According to the news release, a woman claimed she was raped in November 2021. According to police, she claimed that it happened in fall 2013.
During the news conference, the commissioner stated that the rape occurred off school grounds. However, the victim pointed out that there was "inappropriate bodily contact" while attending school.
Officials stated that Harrison was suspended by the district at the time the allegations were made.
"I would like to congratulate the victim in this instance, who has shown such courage coming forward years after being preyed upon. "Her courage will inspire others to speak out against similar abuse," said the police commissioner.
Harrison, now 46 years old, will be arraigned at Central Islip's First District Court on Friday. His attorney information was not immediately available.
Authorities are still investigating and encourage anyone who feels they have been victimized to come forward.
This isn’t the first time that Babylon schools have been rocked.
NBC New York reported that the New York Attorney General Letitia Jam ordered an investigation after former students of Babylon High School staged a walkout in support of their accusers. The investigation is ongoing.
Although attempts to reach high school officials were unsuccessful on Friday, Superintendent Linda Rozzi stated in a statement that Harrison was being held.
"When the district first learned of the alleged inappropriate behavior in November 2021 the district took immediate action by removing him from his classroom, assigning him to his home, taking away all privileges and immediately notifying law enforcement agencies," she stated, noting that the district had conducted an internal investigation.
Rozzi described the allegations as "extremely concerning" and said that the district had "no tolerance for such heinous acts."
She stated that "we will continue to make safety and well-being for our students and staff our highest priority."
