Teacher Preparing for Class Is Attacked

A man with a knife raped and robbed a teacher in her classroom before fleeing Monday morning, authorities said.

The 28-year-old woman was alone in the room at Almeria Middle School preparing for the day’s lessons when she was attacked shortly before 6:30 a.m., Police Cpl. Phil Suchowski said.

A man entered the room, put a knife to the woman’s throat and forced her to the floor for about half an hour, Suchowski said.

After the attack, something startled him and he fled across the campus and that of a neighboring elementary school, Suchowski said.

The knife believed to have been used in the attack and several items from the teacher’s purse were recovered.

The teacher, who called 911 after the attack, suffered cuts to her head, neck and shoulder. She was treated at a hospital and released, Lt. Larry Clark said.