Georgetown Day teacher charged with child sex abuse kissed, touched 14-year-old, police say
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Version 0 of 1. A history teacher at Georgetown Day School accused of sexual misconduct with a student kissed a 14-year-old girl and touched her inappropriately, according to an arrest affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court. The teacher, Mark Elder Allen-Gifford, 31, of Northwest Washington was arrested Friday and made his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Saturday on charges of felony and misdemeanor child sexual abuse. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. His attorney, James D. Colt, declined to comment when reached Monday. The private school in Northwest Washington has more than 1,000 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. In a letter sent to parents by email Sunday, the school said that Allen-Gifford has been put on leave, is barred from the campus and may not contact students. [Teacher arrested at Georgetown Day on sexual-misconduct charges] The letter said that staffers would speak to members of the high school baseball and basketball teams that Allen-Gifford coached. He also was a faculty sponsor for the middle school debate and gender-equality clubs. Allen-Gifford is listed on the staff of DC Dynasty, a nonprofit youth baseball instructional league. A representative at the organization declined to comment. The arrest affidavit made public Monday says the girl told police that she met with the teacher off-campus several times and chatted with him on an Internet messaging application between Jan. 1 and March 5. She said that the two talked about sex and that one time he kissed her and touched her on her thigh. According to the affidavit, Allen-Gifford admitted to police that he met with the girl, talked about sex with her and kissed her one time. He said he did not recall touching her, according to the affidavit. Allen-Gifford was released from jail Saturday and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 29. |