Police: Maine man enters middle school bathroom, offers needles to girl

PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) - A Portland man is accused of getting into King Middle School in Portland, going into a girls’ bathroom and then offering a female student hypodermic needle.

Police were called to the school at 8:48 a.m. Monday following reports of a suspicious man. When officers arrived, they found the man near the Deering Oaks Park entrance.

Officers arrested Jacob Horwitch, 43, and charged him with criminal trespass, violation of privacy and refusing to submit to arrest or detention.

During a school board meeting Tuesday night, school officials said Horwitch entered the school during through a side door that a teacher had left propped open while students had class outside.

“It is plainly problematic that an individual did not follow our protocols by leaving their back classroom door ajar, allowing access to the building,” said co-superintendent Aaron Townsend. “We are following up with this individual in terms of appropriate accountability.”

Officials say he was only in the building for a few minutes.

Maine’s Total Coverage did obtain a copy of a letter sent from the King Middle School Principal to parents at 4 p.m. Monday, more than seven hours after the incident.

In that email, principal Caitlin LeClair said, “The safety of our students is our top priority. We are taking this opportunity to review building safety measures with students and staff.”

In 2020, the Portland School Board voted to remove school resource officers from the city’s high schools.