Allegations of sex abuse put DC teacher on leave. Former student talks with WTOP
A former D.C. student, who is now 22 years old, recently took to social media to level allegations of sex abuse against his former coach, a teacher at Banneker High School.
The accusation has left parents and students upset, and the school sent a letter home to parents saying the teacher is now on leave.
On the same day that letter went out, the man behind the allegations sat down to talk with WTOP about what happened.
Rashad Williams said he was 17 years old at the time of the incident. He said it happened in July of 2020, though he doesn’t know exactly when. That’s also the timeline listed in a report taken by D.C. police, which otherwise offers few details.
“He woke me up out of my sleep,” said Williams, who then described a sex act his teacher was committing. “When I woke up, I just kind of froze up. I froze up.”
“It traumatized me, genuinely traumatized me,” Williams said. “I cried a little bit. I was just trying to figure out how I’d get home. I just went out the bathroom and I just, I acted like nothing happened so I could get home because he was my only way home.”
Williams said nothing ever happened again because he cut off all contact with the teacher and coach. At the time, the world had essentially shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I just genuinely thought he was trying to mentor me and help me be a better student,” Williams said.
“Around this time, I was smoking,” Williams said, referring to marijuana use. “He would smoke with graduates or other teenagers outside of school.”
Williams said that at the time he was lonely and looking for camaraderie.
“Him giving me that access to the weed and stuff like that, it was beneficial for me,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to get anything else out of it other than that — the weed, smoking and just the camaraderie, you know, the connection.”
D.C. Public Schools has given WTOP a statement saying it “is required to maintain confidentiality regarding personnel matters and cannot provide comment on individual employees.
The statement goes on to say the school district treats allegations of employee misconduct with the “utmost seriousness.”
Last week, a letter was sent home to parents at Banneker confirming “an allegation of sexual misconduct has recently been made against a staff member at Banneker High School.”
The letter from the principal goes on to say, “While I am unable to provide further details as these allegations are being investigated by MPD, I can confirm that the staff member is out of the building on leave and will not report while this matter is under review.”
School counselors and other mental health supports have been offered to students while the matter is investigated.