Mother warned Mesquite school hours before daughter was sexually abused: affidavit

MESQUITE, Texas – Mesquite Police have released disturbing new details about a sexual assault that occurred on the Horn High School campus involving a man who is not a student.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the victim’s mother warned police prior to the attack that the suspect had harassed her daughter and threatened to show up at her school.

The victim’s mother even went to the school to personally inform the police.

Hours later, police said 19-year-old Synnaiz Elijah carried out his threat.

He could do it bypass security at Horn High School on Tuesday afternoon by convincing another student to let him in through a locked outside door.

Dressed in all black with a hood over his head, Elijah found his ex-girlfriend in the hallway. He punched her in the face, pulled a kitchen knife and threatened to stab her, according to the affidavit.

The report says the teen, fearing for her life, entered a bathroom stall with Elijah, where he allegedly strangled her and sexually assaulted her. He also destroyed her school’s Chromebook before fleeing.

“We understand that after the incident, the victim went to the front desk and informed staff of what happened,” Mesquite Police Lt. Michael Kelly said.

A teacher saw Elijah in the hallway after the attack and approached him. According to police, he then ran from campus.

He was arrested Tuesday evening at his home in Seagoville and is now charged with aggravated assault of a child.

The affidavit states that security cameras at the school confirmed everything that happened up until the time the suspect and victim entered the bathroom, where there are no cameras.

School safety at stake

State lawmakers have made school safety a top priority in response to the deadly mass shooting in Uvalde. Legislation passed last year created a requirement for an armed guard to be present on all campuses and for silent panic alarms to be installed in classrooms, among other safety improvements.

At Horn High School, police said there are two designated entry points into the school and three officers are assigned to the campus at all times.

“It’s very rare, but it’s the reason for the procedures and protocols and why students need to make sure they follow them,” Lt. Kelly said.

Retired FBI agent Kenneth Gray told FOX 4 that even the best security plans are not complete proof.

“If someone lets someone in or opens up a way for that person to gain access without taking the proper measures, then it’s all wasted because the opportunity is then there for someone to take advantage of it,” Gray said. who now teaches criminal justice at the University of New Haven.

“And it just takes one person who has nefarious intentions to gain access to that vulnerable spot and then they come in,” added Dr. Alex Piquero, a professor of criminology at the University of Miami.

In a letter to parents, the Mesquite Independent School District said the student who allowed Elijah into the building will be disciplined.

Some parents expressed concern about how long he went unnoticed and the district’s decision to wait until the next day to inform parents about what happened.

They will have a chance to voice their concerns at a Mesquite ISD school board meeting Thursday evening.