Cambridge teacher arraigned for alleged child rape of two sisters
WOBURN - A Cambridge fourth-grade teacher pleaded not guilty to several counts of child rape and assault on two sisters in Middlesex Superior Court on Monday morning.
Jorge Alexis Bonilla teaches at the Amigos School in Cambridge and is now on administrative leave following the charges, as first reported by the WBZ I-Team.
Alleged assaults occurred before Bonilla became teacher
None of the alleged assaults involved students – in fact, they stem from incidents long before Bonilla became a teacher.
According to court paperwork, Bonilla started dating a girl he met while working as a camp counselor in 2013. He was a senior in high school, and she was a freshman.
"Over time the defendant started to grab her, scream in her face, and become more possessive and manipulative," court paperwork read. "He never hit or punched her but would grab her by the arms and leave bruises."
Eventually, prosecutors say he forcibly raped her on multiple occasions at his home and hers. The young teen wasn't the only victim – her sister was allegedly assaulted by Bonilla, too, at her own birthday party when she was nine years old, court documents show.
Victims reported alleged crimes recently
The events were 10 years ago, and court documents show the victims didn't feel ready to report the alleged crimes until recently, a reality experts say is common.
"There's no statute of limitations on healing," said Isa Woldeguiorguis, the Executive Director of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. "I'm so excited for this person to be at a place in their journey, at a place in their healing, where they felt like they could come forward."
Woldeguiorguis says sexual violence is "quite prevalent in and amongst young people and young folks' relationships. And you know, early dating relationships are oftentimes characterized by sexual violence, and so one of the things we've been working on is a piece of legislation called the Healthy Youth Act…about getting appropriate sex ed and sexual health information and resources in schools."
If you or a loved one is struggling with sexual violence of believes you may have been assaulted, BARCC operates a 24/7 hotline at 800-841-8371.
Mr. Bonilla – who is innocent until proven guilty – was released after his arraignment on the conditions that he doesn't work with young people or interact with people under 16.
