Police: Man arrested after asking 11-year-old girl about sex inside Durham school bathroom

A man who police believe entered a Durham School of the Arts (DSA) bathroom and peppered middle school students with inappropriate questions has been arrested.

Neal Harding has a court appearance on Thursday over an assault charge, unrelated to the DSA incident. Harding, 29, is being held at the Durham County Detention Center.

Durham Public Schools said on Oct. 28, a man went into the bathroom while middle school students were inside and asked them inappropriate questions. Warrants obtained by WRAL revealed that Harding went into the girls restroom, stuck his head over a stall wall and indicated to a child that he wanted to have sex with her.

Warrants also showed Harding grabbed one girl by the arm and exposed himself to her. Both girls were 11 years old.

Harding is being charged with taking indecent liberties with children, first-degree kidnapping, felonious breaking and entering and first-degree trespassing. Harding's criminal history goes back to 2010, when he was charged for possessing a gun as a minor. He was also convicted in September on an assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury charge, getting two years probation.

Roughly a week after the DSA incident, he was accused of stealing a man's car and assaulting the man with it.

Harding was placed in Durham County Jail under a $1,025,000 bond.

"We are continuing to work closely with law enforcement and our administrators to review our current safety protocols as an ongoing process. We are consistently making changes to ensure the safety of our campuses," said a Durham Public Schools spokesperson.

"As a parent, it makes me feel a lot more comfortable," said Brittney McGraw, a member of the DSA Parent Teacher Student Association, after learning an arrest had been made. "It was very worrisome that the incident happened in the first place, to have someone just walk into the school like that."

McGraw said the PTSA has discussed the matter and “are partnering with the administration to make sure that we can put more things in place to keep our students safe.”

The man "startled some students" and violated their privacy, according to DPS spokesperson Chip Sudderth.

"We’ve received reports that this person said inappropriate things to the students, asking for attention," Sudderth said.

A message from Principal Jackie Tobias said that the man was not authorized to be on campus. Sudderth said they were unsure how the man got past the school's security.

The district is working with Durham police to investigate what happened. Tobias said the school has security footage of what happened and handed it over to investigators.

The man was seen wearing a green-hooded sweatshirt with white writing on the forearms and jeans. Durham police said he was last seen walking south on N. Duke Street near Fenway Avenue.

Officials would not provide WRAL News with security footage due to privacy laws.

Bettina Umstead, chair of the Durham Public School's Board of Education, said that schools need to rethink security measures to make sure they are "not easy access for the public." Parents who spoke with WRAL News agreed with her.

"I am absolute shocked about what happens today and thinking about those students and families impacted," she said.

"Durham Public Schools security staff will work with the School Resource Officers and DSA administration to review and tighten safety procedures to prevent another such incident," Sudderth told WRAL News in a statement. "Under any circumstances this is traumatic and inappropriate," he said.

There was no evidence to indicate that Harding was a DPS employee.