A former DC public school teacher was arrested Thursday on a child sex abuse charge in connection with a 2015 incident, according to court documents.
Mark Walker, a 39-year-old former public high school teacher of the District, has been charged with first-degree child sex abuse.
Walker had a sexual relationship with a student between 2014 and 2016, according to court documents. The man reportedly worked for a DC public school from 2014 – 2019.
The minor was only 15 years old when the alleged sexual intercourse first took place in 2015, while the teacher was 33.
The documents say Walker began walking the student home during her attendance to his after-school program and he kissed her on one occasion while dropping her off. He also sent letters to the victim.
Later he invited her over to his home, and “attempted to have sexual intercourse with” her, according to an affidavit from the court documents. The student told the court she refused to have sex with him, saying she was a virgin, but Walker “still attempted to penetrate the complainant.” The teacher’s actions reportedly caused her to cry.
The alleged penetration happened in the summer of 2015 or 2016, despite the student “explicitly telling him she did not want that to happen.”
Walker worked for Duke Ellington School of the Arts, located in Northwest Washington, until 2019, the school revealed in a letter addressed to its community last Friday, following the arrest.
With respect to the accusations against Walker, Sandi Logan, the school’s principal, wrote “At that time, our administration was made aware of allegations of sexual misconduct by a former DESA employee that occurred in previous school years, some of which were already under investigation.”
“In this case, MPD announced on March 25, 2021, that a former DESA staff member, Mr. Mark Walker, was arrested and charged with First Degree Child Sex Abuse. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Walker was no longer employed at DESA, having departed the school in 2019,” Logan added.
Duke Ellington had first released a statement on the allegations against Walker on June 26, 2020.
A note about allegations of inappropriate behavior. pic.twitter.com/WWIh3l0hLV
— Duke Ellington School of the Arts (@DukeEllingtonDC) June 26, 2020