Child Abuser's Bail Increased After 2nd Victim Steps Forward: DA

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A Bronx man accused of sexually abusing two students at an Upper West Side private school appeared in court Wednesday and had his bail increased, the Manhattan District Attorney's office announced Wednesday.

Channing Parker, 22, is facing charges of predatory sexual assault against a child, sex abuse and criminal sexual act for a child under 13-years-old and endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said. Parker used his job as an after-school basketball instructor at the IDEAL School, a private school on West 91st Street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive, to abuse two 8-year-old girls, prosecutors told Patch.

Parker's bail was originally set at $100,000, but bail was set before his second victim stepped forward, a spokeswoman for the DA's office told Patch. Prosecutors requested Wednesday that bail be increased to $300,000, but a judge instead increased bail to $200,000, the spokeswoman told Patch.

Parker began working as a basketball instructor at the IDEAL School in November 2016 through his employer Kids Creative, a nonprofit that runs after-school programs at a number of city schools, prosecutors said. On March 10, Parker lured an 8-year-old student into a bathroom and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.

The child reported the assault to her mother, the mother contacted the school and the school reported the incident to the police. After the school notified its parents of the incident another 8-year-old girl stepped forward to accused Parker of taking her into the same bathroom and sexually assaulting her on March 8, prosecutors told Patch.

"As demonstrated by the allegations in this case, sexual predators are often repeat offenders," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "Just one day after Channing Parker’s arrest, another victim came forward. We want to make sure that any other potential victims are promptly identified and matched with the resources and help they need so that they do not bear this burden alone."

A spokesman from the IDEAL school told Patch that the school has since cut ties with Kids Creative.

Parker's next court appearance is scheduled for June 20, a spokeswoman from the DA's office told Patch.

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