Man Attacks Girl in High School Bathroom, Police Say

Authorities are investigating after a man with special needs allegedly entered a Cape Cod school and attacked a 15-year-old girl in the restroom.

Yarmouth police said they responded to Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Tuesday around 9 a.m. after receiving a report the man had entered the building.

Authorities said the 23-year-old man, who has Down syndrome, lives at a group home for people with special needs across the street from the school.

According to police, a school employee who knew the man saw him on school grounds and noticed he was bleeding from his hand. The employee brought the man into the school to see the school nurse, police said.  

Once inside the school, the man allegedly ran off, prompting a search.

The man allegedly began speaking with the 15-year-old student in the hallway. Police said the student went into the restroom and that the man followed her.

Police said the man struck the girl several times with his fists. After the student yelled for help, another student and a staff member came into the bathroom and removed the man, authorities said.

The student was not seriously injured, police said.

An investigation determined the man and student did not know each other, police said.

The parents of both the man and student met with police and school officials, police said, adding that "corrective measures" had been taken.

Criminal charges were being reviewed by Yarmouth police and the Cape and Islands District Attorney.

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