Police: Suspect Raped 14-Year-Old in Rec Center Bathroom

Police said Friday that they had identified the 14-year-old boy they say raped a classmate in a South Philadelphia recreation center bathroom this week and have forwarded the case to the District Attorney's Office.

Police said that after school let out Wednesday, the suspect, a ninth grader at Universal Audenried Charter High School, forced the 14-year-old girl to accompany him to the rec center by threatening her life. Once there, he forced her into a women's bathroom and raped her, police said.

The attack ended when rec center staff members who had heard noise coming from the bathroom went in and saw what was happening, police said. The attacker, however, ran out.

The victim did not know her attacker's name because she was new to the school, police said. Investigators, however, were able to identify the suspect with help from Audenried's staff and Vare Recreation Center's video surveillance system.

Universal Cos., which runs the school, said it was cooperating fully with investigators.

The city's Parks and Recreation Department referred questions to the Mayor's Office, which deferred to police. A man who answered the phone at Vare on Friday said the rec center had no comment.

Contact Michaelle Bond at [email protected].