Man Charged With Raping Girl In Brockton High School Parking Lot
BROCKTON (CBS) -- A Brockton District Court judge held a man charged with raping a 19-year-old girl at Brockton High School on $25,000 bail at his Monday arraignment.
Andy Thao, 44, of Leominster, pleaded not guilty to charges that he lured a Brockton High School student from class and raped her in the school parking lot last week.
Police say Thao, a father of five, texted the girl on Oct. 27 while she was in school and asked her to come to the parking lot because he had brought her lunch. When the girl met Thao in his minivan, police say he exposed himself and sexually assaulted her.
In court, Thao said through a translator he had previously met the victim at a family function. Thao said the two were friends, but the prosecutors said the text messages became explicit.
"The conversation then switches to the defendant asking if they can make love the next time he comes to visit," prosecutor Chris Veale said.
Thao's defense attorney, Patricia Lennon, told court officials there was no rape.
"He states that he has text messages from the alleged victim that will prove his innocence," Lennon said in court.
After the alleged assault, Brockton High School issued a statement and notified students of the incident. School officials said school counselors and staff are supporting the victim, and assured the student body it was an isolated incident.
Despite the assurance, students at Brockton High were still worried on Monday.
"You can't really trust people now a days," one student said, "so just be careful of who you trust."
"It feels unsafe now," another student said.
Police confiscated Thao's cell phone because they say he texted the alleged victim after the incident, asking her if she was ok.
Thao is due back in court on Nov. 29 for a probable cause hearing. In addition to the $25,000 cash bail, Thao must also stay away from Brockton High School, have no contact with the victim and wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.