DC School Teacher Accused Of Rape In Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, MD — A D.C. public elementary school teacher is being charged with rape, according to reports. Rudy Gonzalez, 47, a music teacher at Shepherd Elementary School, is alleged to have raped a woman in his Silver Spring home.

The victim, who knows Gonzalez, alleges that on Oct. 8, she met him at Westfield Wheaton Mall and went with him to his home on the promise of getting help with citizenship and learning English, WTOP reports.

Then, she says, he gave her an unidentified drink and she passed out. She claims she woke up nude and in a lot of pain in Gonzalez's bed.

He then took her back to the Wheaton shopping mall and left her by the Wendy's there, she reported, and was later found unconscious by some bushes.

A medical exam showed she required surgery from internal injuries, WTOP reports.

Gonzalez refutes the accusation of rape. He said the sexual encounter was consensual and that the two drank tequila.

“Even though my personal and behavior is being questioned at this moment, I have been a good member of this society and community,” he said in court, according to the Washington Post. “I want to face whatever is coming and to prove whatever is necessary to prove my innocence.”

Gonzalez was placed on leave from his job at the school last week, a spokesman said, according to the Post. He was jailed Oct. 10 and released on $50,000 bond two days later.

He's expected in court on Nov. 9, facing these charges:

• second-degree rape
• first-degree assault
• second-degree assault
• third-degree sexual offense

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Article image: Rudy Gonzalez/provided by Montgomery County Police Department