UPPER WEST SIDE — A Bronx man has been charged with sexually assaulting two 8-year-old girls at the Upper West Side school where he was working as an after-school basketball coach, prosecutors said.
Channing Parker, 22, was hired by Kids Creative, a nonprofit that organizes summer camp and after-school programs for city students, in January 2015, according to documents filed in New York State Supreme Court and statements made there.
On March 10, he was coaching students in the gym at the IDEAL School, a private institution at 314 W. 91st St., when he took an 8-year-old girl into a single-user bathroom and sexually assaulted her, documents show.
Police arrested Parker the next day after after the girl described the incident to her mother, who took the issue to the school. The IDEAL School also reported it to the NYPD and notified parents.
Another 8-year-old student then stepped forward, saying that Parker assaulted her in the same bathroom, according to court documents. He started working as a basketball coach at the IDEAL School in November 2016.
Parker was indicted on felony charges of predatory sexual assault against a child, criminal sexual act in the first degree and sexual abuse in the first degree, as well as misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
“Kids Creative is deeply troubled by the recent allegations," the organization, which has fired Parker, said in a statement. "Kids Creative conducts rigorous background checks on all employees ... [and] has not experienced any allegations of this nature against our employees in our 17-year history."
The IDEAL School terminated its relationship with Kids Creative after the first allegation against Parker surfaced, it said in a statement.
"We are deeply disturbed that any students from our school were mistreated by an employee of the Kids Creative after-school program, and we will continue to fully support any of our families involved in this incident," the statement said.
Parker's bail was set at $200,000 cash or bond Wednesday, according to the DA's office. He is scheduled to next appear in court on June 20.
The DA's office is asking parents of other potential victims to contact their child abuse unit at 212-335-4308.
