Student with special needs sexually assaulted in school bathroom, SC cops say
A 17-year-old was arrested on charges that he sexually assaulted a student with special needs at a South Carolina high school.
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said the sexual assault occurred Feb. 19 in a girls’ bathroom at Baptist Hill High School, where Jamari Lavon Simmons is a senior, WCSC reported.
According to the sheriff’s office, surveillance footage shows Simmons following a 15-year-old into the bathroom, where he forced her to have sex, according to WCIV.
Another female student told law enforcement she entered the bathroom and saw the sexual assault, per WCBD.
The assault was reported to school staff and the girl was taken to a Charleston-area hospital “where a sexual assault exam was performed,” and she told law enforcement the sex “was not consensual,” according to the TV station.
Simmons was charged with second-degree criminal sexual misconduct with a minor, WCIV reported.
On Saturday a judge set his bond at $75,000, and told Simmons he “is not allowed to have contact with the victim,” who has “special needs,” nor is he allowed to go back to the high school, per WCSC.
A statement from the school said “administrators immediately notified the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and CCSD staff once they were informed of the incident. School and district personnel have and will continue to work with law enforcement and community partners through the entire process,” according to WCIV.
