Three Suspects Nabbed In School Assault

Three students were arraigned last Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16 year-old girl in a basement bathroom at Bayside High School.Three sophomore, special-education students at Bayside H.S., Leon Elkech, Parrish Jones and John Mendoza, were charged with first degree sodomy, kidnapping, sexual abuse and assault in last week’s attack.
According to police, the victim of the assault, a sophomore, whose name is not being released, stayed after school to do some work. Sometime after 2:30 the girl was getting ready to leave the building when one of the suspects, whom she knew, approached her.
A police source said words were exchanged between the suspect and the girl, and she decided to walk out with him and two other boys. The suspects then duped the girl into believing the entrance to a basement boys’ bathroom was actually one of the building’s exits. Once they got the girl into the bathroom, Elkech allegedly ordered the girl to her knees and demanded sexual favors, police said. When she declined Elkech and Jones beat her and choked her with a belt as Mendoza stood guard at the door.
Around 4:30 p.m. a custodian found the partially clothed, battered and bruised girl lying on the cold bathroom floor after a student alerted him to the scene after hearing her moans. Police said the girl’s hands were tied behind her back with her own shoelaces and that she had numerous cuts and bruises on her face. She was taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center for treatment and was released.
Police and school officials proceeded to lock the school down, not permitting any students or staff to exit the building until the investigation was complete. Meanwhile, outside a police helicopter circled above the school that’s home to 2,700 students.
The attack occurred while most of the school’s occupants were participating in athletic events. The cheers and splashes of a swim meet that took place just feet away from the assault, drowned out the girl’s faint cries.
According to school officials, it did not take long to find out who was suspected of the assault. The visibly shaken victim provided police with the names of her alleged attackers. Investigators proceeded to review the suspects’ student rosters with the assistance of school officials and quickly tracked them down. All three admitted to the crime.
Mendoza was apprehended at the school, while Elkech and Jones were captured at their homes. Each teen could face a maximum penalty of 65 years in jail if convicted. In Queens Criminal Court Thursday afternoon, Judge Laura Blackburne set bail for the teens at $350,000. The boys’ attorneys, who were unavailable for comment, requested that they be held in protective custody.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown expressed outrage after being notified of the attack. "This crime can only be characterized as shocking and reprehensible. The young woman will bear the physical and the emotional scars of the assault for the rest of her life,"Brown said.
A sophomore student at Bayside H.S. said she was familiar with the three boys and that it wasn’t surprising that they were involved in the attack. "I knew they were headed for trouble. They’re not exactly the nicest guys in the world. Every girl in [this school] could have been the victim of that attack. I’m just glad [the boys] were caught," she said.
Harris Sarney, the principal of Bayside H.S. said the attack was an isolated incident. "It’s not characteristic of this school. We make our school very safe for our students," Sarney said. "It’s sad that kids harbor such violent behavior. I feel bad for the girl and the boys involved, who’s lives will never be the same."
Sarney also addressed the incident in a letter he sent to his students’ parents. "We intend to take every possible action to maintain your confidence in Bayside H.S. as a safe and sure environment in which your youngsters can continue to benefit from outstanding instructional programs and a rich social and cultural experience," Sarney said.
A teacher at Bayside H.S., who did not want to be identified, said the school’s staff was truly in shock."This school offers an extremely safe environment for our students. To have this happen here is very unusual, but I dont believe more security or safety measures could have prevented this. It is just one of those incidents that can happen anywhere at anytime and there is nothing we could have done to stop it. The students who did this need to be punished severely."
According to police, the bathroom that was used in the assault exists in a remote section of the basement near the physical education department. School officials report that the bathroom has been closed to prevent any such incident to occur again.