Former middle school security guard accused of sexually assaulting student

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A former security guard at a Charlotte-Mecklenburg School was arrested and charged for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, police said.

Police obtained 27 warrants against 26-year-old Mario McIlwain, who is charged with nine counts of sex act by a custodian, seven counts of statutory rape, two counts of statutory sex offense and nine counts of indecent liberties with a child.

The mother of the teenage girl contacted police after an incident between her daughter and McIlwain, who was employed as a security associate at Alexander Graham Middle School, according to police.

"I'm disappointed in that security officer definitely," a parent at the school, Hunt Wofford, said.

The mother told police that McIlwain sexually assaulted her daughter on multiple occasions from February 2018 until May 2018 at Alexander Graham Middle School.

School officials said McIlwain was hired by Alexander Graham Middle School in February. He was fired Wednesday.

Alexander Graham Middle School officials released this statement to parents and staff:

Good evening, AG parents and staff,

This is Robert Folk, principal of Alexander Graham Middle School, calling with a message to keep you informed of events surrounding our school.

You may see or hear news reports that Mr. Mario Mcilwain, a CMS security associate who worked at AG, was arrested by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and charged with indecent liberties with a minor and felony sex offenses involving a student.  In collaboration with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Police, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, and CMS Employee Relations, I assure you that appropriate legal processes are being followed.

Please know that your child’s safety and wellbeing are my primary concerns at Alexander Graham Middle.  I expect students, parents, and staff to have questions.  Please understand that privacy laws prevent me from sharing any details outside of public documents.

Supporting our children should be our focus at this time.

Please let me know if a member of my team or I can be of assistance to you or to your child. 

As always, I appreciate your support of AG Middle School.

The safety and well-being of students is always a top priority of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. CMS is cooperating fully with CMPD to help ensure vigorous investigation and appropriate prosecution in this matter. Support is available for students, families and others in the school community. To protect student and family privacy, inquiries concerning this active investigation should be directed to CMPD.

Cox Media Group