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First, his clasmmates “grabbed him, beat him up and then brought him back home,” said the source, who has direct knowledge of the investigation. They also took the woman to an area hospital, he said.
Norwood seized 19-year-old Matthias Masimba Kabete late Wednesday at the residence where he was staying, then,handed him over to their counterparts from Seaside.
Kabete, who is in the U.S. on a student visa from Zimbabwe, was then taken to the jail in Ocean County, where he will be prosecuted on charges of third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact and third-degree criminal sexual contact.
As first reported on CLIFFVIEW PILOT last night, the trip to Seaside ended with an 18-year-old raped and an investigation under way involving several students from Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. (See: Norwood student raped at Shore party after prom)
The woman is from Norwood, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation told CLIFFVIEWPILOT.COM.
Witnesses said Kabete found her on a bed in a room at the Seaside Sands Hotel sometime after they checked in around 4 a.m. He began sexually assaulting her before classmates came in, “grabbed him, beat him up and then brought him back home,” the source told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
First, however, they cleaned up the room and “got rid of all evidence,” the source said.
They also brought the woman to Ocean County Medical Center, but she was not admitted, the source told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. It’s unclear why not.
Sunday night, the teen’s parents went to law enforcement authorities. She was taken to Englewood Medical Center, where a rape test was administered by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the source said.
“The girl was so ashamed, she didn’t want her parents to know,” the source told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “But you know how kids are. Word spread around town pretty fast.”
Before long, police from Norwood and Seaside Heights were in touch with one another.
The investigation is now in the hands of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, which confirmed the arrest today.
Meanwhile, authorities in North Jersey remain concerned, primarily for the woman’s well-being and what one source said is the reaction of several students.
“A tremendous amount of alcohol was transported down to Seaside Heights the day before,” a source who spoke on condition of anonymity told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “Plus, they didn’t call police when they encountered the rape.
“All the kids now have lawyers.”
The source told CLIFFVIEW PILOT that concerns over who had or supplied the alcohol are secondary.
“The main thing here is the rape,” the source said.
Police at first were puzzled why a 19 year old would still be in high school, but then discovered Kabete’s visa, which a judge in Ocean County ordered confiscated.
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