A student has been arrested and charged with rape in an alleged incident on a school campus in Falls Church Va., the Falls Church police said.
The accused student was expelled upon report of the incident to school officials, the police said. Police said they began a two-month investigation.
The student was charged with aggravated sexual assault and rape, the police said in a statement.
The investigation gave detectives probable cause to believe a second juvenile female had also been sexually assaulted, off campus outside school hours about a month earlier, the police said.
“This is a terrible situation,” said Dr. Peter J. Noonan, the Falls Church public school system superintendent.
“Now is the time to wrap services and support around the victims, their families, and our community,” Noonan said in a statement.
He said he could not comment on an ongoing legal matter. But said, “safety and security of our schools is the top priority.”
A hearing was to be held in the case Friday, the police said but the outcome is unknown at this time.
In Loudoun County, two sexual assaults by a high school student in 2021, and the response to them, touched off a storm of controversy and ignited nationwide attention.
The Falls Church City public school system operates five schools, including a high school, a middle school, and two elementary schools. The Secondary Campus apparently includes the high school and the middle school.
Falls Church, an independent Northern Virginia municipality has about 14,000 residents in its 2.2 square miles.