Who is Timothy Harrison? Lacrosse coach, 46, booked for having sex with teen student
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: A 46-year-old lacrosse coach from Long Island was arrested on Thursday, March 3, 2022, on charges of having sex with a 15-year-old female student. The incident dates back to 2013, when Thomas Harrison was working as a special education teacher and lacrosse coach at the Babylon School District. Suffolk County Police arrested Harrison based on a complaint lodged in 2021.
Speaking about the incident, Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison detailed, "Today’s announcement of the arrest of a Babylon school teacher for rape is disturbing. The rape occurred off school grounds, however, the victim indicated there was inappropriate physical contact while at the school." At that time, Harrison was employed as the lacrosse coach for the teachers' and girls' teams.
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In 2021, police received a report about a sexual relationship between Harrison and a minor student from the Babylon School District. Following an investigation, Timothy Harrison was arrested on Thursday morning at a traffic stop on the Robert Moses Causeway.
He was charged with two counts of rape in the third degree and one count of a criminal sex act. At present, he is being held in custody at Suffolk County's First Precinct. Harrison is set to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip.
Meanwhile, authorities from the Babylon School District have responded to the crime, calling the allegations 'disturbing'. School Superintendent Linda Rozzi said, "These allegations are extremely disturbing, and our thoughts are with the victim." She further noted, “The district and board of education have zero tolerance towards such heinous acts and take all claims of this nature very seriously. We will continue to make the safety and well-being of our students and staff our top priority.”
Suffolk Police Commissioner Harrison also lauded the victim for her bravery, saying, “Her courage will give other victims of similar abuse the courage to come forward."
However, there are unverified claims of more predators in the Babylon School District, who are yet to be investigated for their crimes. Barbara Maier, an alum of the school district, spoke about the police briefing and said, "At one point, they said, ‘This is the only criminal that we’ve stumbled across.'...which isn’t true, because every single one of us was a victim of a crime.”
Not many details are available about the accused at the moment as further investigation is underway.