The district did not release information about the crime until today.Parents received letters from school officials, informing them about the incident.
The crime happened at James Coble Middle School. Coble is a Mansfield ISD school but is located in the City of Arlington, so Arlington Police are investigating.
In a news release, MISD spokesman Terry Morawski and Arlington Police spokesman Lt. Blake Miller say the assault happened on September 26.
Miller says a 13-year-old girl told police she had been in a hallway at the school that morning when a man grabbed her, pulled her into a girls' locker room and sexually assaulted her.
Miller identified the suspect as 34-year-old Fredrick Ramone Wright. He says Wright is the father of another Coble student and was visiting the campus that day. Wright is in the Arlington jail under $100,000 bond. He is being charged with aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping.
In the news release, Morawski lists the security measures in place at MISD middle schools. They include a sign-in system that scans visitors' driver's licenses and compares the information to a registered sex offender database.
Police say Wright went to the school to visit his own child. The sign-in system cleared him to enter the school, Miller said, and he was allowed into the building.
"We're reviewing our policies, basically every policy, to take a look to see if there's any additional measures maybe we need to take," said Mansfield ISD Spokesperson Terry Morawski.
No MISD middle school has security cameras, according to the district.
Parents say from now on, they believe every visitor on campus should be escorted. Some say they would also like the school to install surveillance cameras.
Police have not said whether Wright has a criminal past, but a search for his name in the Texas Department of Public Safety's Sex Offender Registry returned no results.
The district's statement also says although the crime happened two weeks ago, the district waited until now to tell the community about it "due to laws protecting privacy rights and to not impede the progress of the investigation."
Last year, a teacher's aide was accused of sexually assaulting another student at the same school.
The school issued the following letter to the parents:
October 10, 2008
Dear Parent/Guardian:
I am sending this letter in order to provide you with accurate information and discourage rumors of an alleged incident that occurred on the Coble campus involving one of our students.
The Arlington Police Department is investigating the sexual assault of one of our students on campus. The alleged incident was reported to the Arlington Police Department on September 26. The suspect is an adult male who was visiting the campus.
The suspect is not an employee of MISD or a student in the district. The Arlington Police Department is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident. Mansfield ISD employees and the MISD Police are cooperating fully with the Arlington Police Department.
To account for the delay in releasing this information, I can tell you that due to laws protecting privacy rights and to preserve the integrity of the investigation for the Arlington Police Department, I have been limited in the information that I can disclose. However, I want to reassure the entire Coble community that the safety of our students and staff remains one of our top priorities.
Please feel free to contact my office if you have questions or concerns. If you or your student has any information about this incident, or any other safety concern on our campus, please direct them to contact me or another campus administrator. I assure you that we are committed to maintaining a safe school environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.
Sincerely,
Derrell Douglas Principal
JAMES L. COBLE MIDDLE SCHOOL
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