RIALTO, Calif. (KNX) — A 17-year-old student at Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto has been accused of multiple sexual assaults on classmates, and is now facing criminal charges.
Rialto police have also accused two school officials of knowing about the allegations since September but failing to disclose them. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday that it’s charging 38-year-old David Shenhan Yang and 37-year-old Natasha Harris — who are both assistant principals at Carter High School — with felony child abuse and two counts of failure to report child abuse or neglect.
Police were made aware of the allegations on Feb. 16. They concerned a 17-year-old male who had allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old female several times over the course of at least three months on school grounds, according to a police news release published Tuesday.
Upon investigating the alleged assault of the 15-year-old, detectives learned two other girls, 15 and 16, also reported beings sexually assaulted by the suspect.
The suspect, whose identity has not been released due to his minor status, was contacted and cited by authorities before being released into the custody of his parents as sexual battery charges were pending.
One of those reports was made to school officials in September of last year — but police said they were not informed of the allegations until last week, nearly five months after the fact.
“The reason for the delay in reporting from school officials to the police department is also under investigation,” police said.
The Rialto Unified School District was also conducting an internal investigation into the matter, according to a spokesperson.
“The safety and wellbeing of students is our number one priority,” district spokesperson Syeda Jafri said in a statement to The San Bernardino Sun. “The district will continue its internal investigation until all the facts related to this matter are brought to light.”
Related
