A Babylon high school teacher was arrested on Thursday for allegedly raping a teenage girl about nine years ago when she was a student.
Timothy Harrison, a 46-year-old special education teacher and coach at Babylon Junior-Senior High School, is being charged with two counts of third-degree rape and one count of a third-degree criminal sexual act.
Suffolk County police arrested Harrison after they followed him outside of his Oak Beach home and pulled him over on Robert Moses Causeway in West Islip.
The survivor, who is now in her 20s, came forward in November 2021, a month after administrators from the Babylon Union Free School District contacted the Suffolk County Police Department about allegations of misconduct involving school staff.
The victim told police that she was a 15-year-old student when she had a sexual relationship with Harrison in 2013.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison, who is not related to the teacher, said inappropriate physical conduct allegedly took place at the school, but sexual incidents were not on school grounds. He also praised the victim for coming forward.
“I'd like to commend the victim in this case who has exhibited so much bravery coming forward years after she was preyed upon,” the commissioner said in a statement. “We hope this arrest brings the victim some sense of peace and that she knows that her voice was heard.”
Timothy Harrison is scheduled for an arraignment in Central Islip Friday.
Several students came forward on social media and at a school board meeting on November 15 alleging sexual abuse they faced from other teachers, which sparked the State Attorney General’s office to launch a civil investigation.
Jeffrey Kenney, a former teacher at the school, resigned last year after similar allegations.
