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Thursday, May 08, 2003

WILKINSBURG: Warrant issued for rape

	Troy Lamont Thompson

Wilkinsburg police have obtained an arrest warrant for one of two men accused of raping a 15-year-old girl last month.

Troy Lamont Thompson, 20, of Franklin Avenue, will be charged with rape, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault and criminal conspiracy.

Police said the teen identified Thompson from an array of photographs. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

In an affidavit, police said that on April 28 the teen met the suspects near the McDonald's on Penn Avenue and went to a Franklin Avenue apartment to use the telephone. The teen said the men appeared "nice" and she followed them to the apartment.

Once inside, she called a friend on a cell phone given to her by one of the suspects, described as "the short one."

A person who was at the apartment when the three arrived, stated, "I don't want any part of this," and left, according to the affidavit.

Police said Thompson and his accomplice began to kiss and fondle the victim and put a pornographic video into a VCR.

Police said Thompson then pushed the teen onto the couch and began sexually assaulting her. At some point, the other suspect then sexually assaulted the teen.

Afterward, police said, one suspect left the apartment and Thompson molested the girl again.

Anyone with information as to the suspects' whereabouts is asked to call Wilkinsburg police at 412-244-2919.

WOODLAND HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT: Budget plan hikes taxes

Superintendent Ronald Grimm presented a preliminary $68.9 million budget for the 2003-04 school year that calls for a 2.27-mill tax increase.

The spending proposal represents a more than $4 million increase over the current school year.

Grimm said most of the increase is due to teacher and administrative salaries and a 28.5 percent increase in health insurance costs. Also included in the budget is a $945,000 increase in retirement costs.

Barb Wieser, president of the Woodland Hills Education Association, urged the board not to furlough teachers to balance the budget.