A New York high school student allegedly lured a classmate into a stairwell and raped her.
Police say 18-year-old Jevon Martin snatched his 16-year-old victim’s backpack to pull her into a stairwell at the Washington Irving Campus in Manhattan just after 8am on Monday.
The girl struggled and tried to push the student off her but he ripped off her clothes and raped her.
The teen was taken to Lenox Hill Healthplex for treatment and immediately identified Martin as her attacker. Police arrested him a short time later.
Police say 18-year-old Jevon Martin ended up raping a 16-year-old girl as the Washington Irving school campus, pictured, in Manhattan. He dragged her into the stairwell before attacking her
‘Everybody’s just kind of like freaked out that this happened,’ said Jay’von Downer, 17, a senior to the Daily News.
Another boy at the Gramercy Arts High School said: ‘It made me nervous because I don’t want to be in a school with a rapist … it’s just nasty.’
Other students learned about the incident from a reporter and not their teachers.
At his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday, Judge Gerianne Abriano set bail at $10,000 bond or $7,500 cash and ordered Martin to stay away from the victim.
Defense attorney Lorin Nathan called for a ‘thorough’ investigation of the charges.
‘There may be surveillance video cameras inside the school … I suspect they will show a picture very different from what is alleged here,’ he said
Parents picking up young children Tuesday who attend school on the same campus had plenty to say and could not believe such a thing could happen in a place where every student should always feel safe.
‘I hate to hear that — just the worst thing I could imagine,’ one parent said to CBS2.
‘I’m worried and I didn’t receive notice,’ another said.
Department of Education spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said officials are taking the allegations very seriously.
‘This troubling incident was immediately reported and we are working closely with the NYPD as they conduct an investigation,’ Barbot said in an emailed statement.
‘We are treating this with the utmost seriousness and are providing the campus with additional guidance and safety supports.’
The campus located at 40 Irving Place houses several schools, including the International High School at Union Square, Union Square Academy for Health Sciences and the High School for Language and Diplomacy.