Teacher Accused Of Raping 15-Year-Old Student In His Home After Giving Her Alcohol

A high school teacher in Long Island, New York, faces up to 16 years in prison after he was indicted for the rape of a student when she was a teenager.

Timothy Harrison, 46, was indicted Wednesday on five criminal counts — one for endangering the welfare of a child and two counts each of third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act, both felonies, NBC New York reported. He pleaded not guilty to both counts of rape and both counts of criminal sex act Wednesday.

Harrison, a suspended Babylon High School special education teacher and lacrosse coach, is accused of sexually abusing a then-15-year-old student inside his Oak Beach home back in 2013.

Prosecutors alleged that Harrison began texting the student in the fall of 2013 before bringing her back to his home.

He allegedly raped the teen on two separate occasions between September and November that year, People reported, citing a statement from prosecutors.

Harrison allegedly gave the victim alcohol before raping her, prosecutors said.

He was arrested on March 3, after the victim reported the alleged sexual abuse to Suffolk County Police Special Victim Section detectives.

“No child should be faced with the threat of being exposed to predators while inside the supposed safety of an academic institution,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in the statement.

Harrison had his wife by his side when he was arraigned Wednesday in a court in Riverhead. As of this writing, he is still employed by the Babylon School District but remains suspended with pay.

“We’ve received no evidence yet. It remains simply an allegation. This is day one and we’ll see where this takes us,” Harrison’s attorney Kevin Keating was quoted as saying by CBS News. “He’s been in the district forever. He is highly regarded. I think the fact that the courtroom was filled with supporters speaks volumes about how he is perceived in the community.”

Harrison has been released on a $25,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 26.

This comes not long after former students alleged that they were harassed and abused by some teachers at Babylon through junior high school and high school and that their complaints were allegedly dismissed.

Kenneth Silverman, a parent of Babylon High graduates, helped raise consciousness among parents, while some graduates formed Babylon Alumni & Allies for Change.

"This has been around. There were red flags. Children were intimidated because the system was created that way to prevent them from speaking up," said Silverman.