A White Hall High School male student has been charged in the alleged rape of a female student in a school restroom on Monday, Aug. 31, according to White Hall Police Sgt. Paul Brown, a lead investigator in the matter.
Although the student is charged as an adult, he is a minor and The Journal is declining to identify him at this time. The victim will not be named.
According to Brown, the victim stated that the suspect followed her into a girls restroom and confronted her, eventually forcing her to commit a sexual act. The girl managed to escape and immediately informed several of her friends of the attack. Her friends later verified the victim’s statements to them.
School Resource Officer Tommy Kelly was told of the incident and initiated the investigation. Officer Bryan Hornsby collected the girl’s clothing, which was submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Lab as possible evidence.
Police Chief Noel Foster picked up the suspect at the school the following morning. As Foster was transporting the suspect to the police department for questioning, the suspect incriminated himself with several unsolicited statements, Foster said.
The suspect was officially charged on Sept. 2 and was released from custody after posting a $25,000 secured bond. The suspect is no longer enrolled in the White Hall School District.
“I want to assure everyone that their children are safe in our schools and we’re taking care of this situation,” said Foster. “This is an isolated incident and we have given it our full attention from the moment we learned of it.
“We moved swiftly in our investigation and school administrators helped in gathering witnesses and worked well with us, as they always do.
“We’re still working on collecting evidence in this case, and we’ve instituted measures to help prevent another such incident.”
A White Hall High School male student has been charged in the alleged rape of a female student in a school restroom on Monday, Aug. 31, according to White Hall Police Sgt. Paul Brown, a lead investigator in the matter.
Although the student is charged as an adult, he is a minor and The Journal is declining to identify him at this time. The victim will not be named.
According to Brown, the victim stated that the suspect followed her into a girls restroom and confronted her, eventually forcing her to commit a sexual act. The girl managed to escape and immediately informed several of her friends of the attack. Her friends later verified the victim’s statements to them.
School Resource Officer Tommy Kelly was told of the incident and initiated the investigation. Officer Bryan Hornsby collected the girl’s clothing, which was submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Lab as possible evidence.
Police Chief Noel Foster picked up the suspect at the school the following morning. As Foster was transporting the suspect to the police department for questioning, the suspect incriminated himself with several unsolicited statements, Foster said.
The suspect was officially charged on Sept. 2 and was released from custody after posting a $25,000 secured bond. The suspect is no longer enrolled in the White Hall School District.
“I want to assure everyone that their children are safe in our schools and we’re taking care of this situation,” said Foster. “This is an isolated incident and we have given it our full attention from the moment we learned of it.
“We moved swiftly in our investigation and school administrators helped in gathering witnesses and worked well with us, as they always do.
“We’re still working on collecting evidence in this case, and we’ve instituted measures to help prevent another such incident.”
