Supervisor at Bremerton facility for at-risk youth charged with assaulting teenager

A supervisor of teenage students at the Washington Youth Challenge Academy was charged Friday with third-degree rape, after being arrested Thursday on allegations that he sexually assaulted a young person under his care at the Bremerton facility.

The suspect, David Lee Lumpkin, 28, had worked as a "cadre" for approximately 2 and a half months at the Washington Youth Challenge Academy, a state-operated, military-style residential facility that opened in 2009 on a secure campus next to the Cencom 911 center and Pendergast Park in the West Hills neighborhood. Programs are offered for at-risk youth from around the state, who enroll in an immersive five-month stint that also allows students, both male and female, to live in a strictly controlled environment, catch up on high school credits and provide mentoring opportunities after completion. Cadets are placed in "platoons," supervised by adult cadres that are responsible for each student's safety and well being, and by policy have an assigned partner, or "battle buddy," so that cadets are never left alone.

Bremerton police were called to the facility Thursday to interview a cadet. The cadet told police that Lumpkin had recently attempted to isolate the cadet from other cadets, which is violation of WYCA policy. The cadet said that Lumpkin would make sexually inappropriate comments when other cadets were out of earshot, which made the teenager uncomfortable. The cadet then told police that on Wednesday evening Lumpkin took the cadet into a staff locker room, where no one else was present. There, according to the police report, Lumpkin showed the cadet pornography from his cell phone, repeatedly asked the cadet to expose themselves, then removed the cadet's pants against their will and initiated sexual contact. Lumpkin then escorted the cadet back to the platoon barracks. According to the 17-year-old's statement Lumpkin then ordered the cadet not to tell anyone. The cadet expressed to police a feeling of fear around Lumpkin, who was the cadre over the cadet's platoon.

Bremerton police interviewed Lumpkin approximately three hours later at the academy, and Lumpkin provided an account of the previous day's interaction that confirmed the statement by the victim. The police report notes that Lumpkin was immediately remorseful and apologized to WYCA superiors at the interview. He was arrested at the scene, booked into Kitsap County Jail and charged Friday afternoon in Kitsap County Superior Court.

A Washington Youth Challenge Academy spokesperson on Friday confirmed that Lumpkin was terminated as an employee on Friday and action was taken to eliminate any contact he may have with cadets or the WYCA facility. The agency said that Lumpkin had passed a background check before his hire, and the facility is monitored around the clock by security cameras. The police report notes that the staff locker room did not have cameras.

"There is nothing more important than the safety and security of the young men and women who learn at the Academy," Karina Shagren, communications director for the Washington Military Department, said in a statement Friday. "We appreciate the cooperation of law enforcement, who took this incident as seriously as we did. We’ll be conducting a top-to-bottom investigation to help identify additional strategies to ensure the Academy remains a safe and healthy place to learn and grow."

Lumpkin remained in custody as of Friday, and plead not guilty at an initial appearance.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Supervisor at Washington Youth Academy facility arrested for rape