Manuel Mendes, 38, of Boston, dean of students at the Joseph P. Timilty Middle School, was arrested Friday on a warrant charging him with four counts of statutory rape.
A Boston Public Schools official has been charged with raping a 15-year-old former student at the Joseph P. Timilty Middle School earlier this year.
Manuel Mendes, 38, of Boston, the school's dean of students, was arrested Friday on a warrant charging him with four counts of statutory rape.
He was arraigned Monday in West Roxbury Municipal Court. Bail was set at $35,000, and he was ordered to wear a GPS bracelet if he posts bail. He was also ordered to stay away from the victim, witnesses, the Timilty Middle School and any past or present students.
Prosecutors said Mendes knew the victim as a former student. The victim was interviewed last month and disclosed multiple assaults by Mendes beginning in February 2020 and continuing until the summer, they said. Text messages and other digital evidence related to the allegations were also recovered during the course of the investigation.
“This is the ultimate betrayal of a child’s trust,” Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement. “As an educator and school official, Mr. Mendes had a duty to provide a safe and supportive environment for this young person to learn and grow. Instead, he allegedly used his position of trust and authority to prey on the victim."
Boston Public Schools told the Boston Globe they immediately placed Mendes on paid administrative leave upon learning of his arrest on Friday.
Mendes' attorney, Simon Glik, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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He is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 15, 2021.
