NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The owner of a Newport News martial arts academy is behind bars after a police report said he raped young girls who attended classes at the facility.
Jeremy Armstead, 30, of Williamsburg is charged with rape, forcible sodomy, abduction, strangulation, indecent exposure and carnal knowledge of a child between 13 and 15 years of age, WTKR reports.
In July, court documents state alleged victims came to the police department to report they had been raped as young girls while at Xtreme Dragon’s Black Belt Academy.
According to court documents, one victim told police she was 12 years old the first time Armstead forced himself on her. This victim told police she was raped and sexually assaulted three more times up until the age of 15. In some cases, she told police, she was tied down.
All alleged crimes occurred at Xtreme Dragon’s Black Belt Academy, as this victim was taking TaeKwonDo at the time.
Another victim told police she was 16 years old when she said Armstead raped her inside the business while nobody else was there.
A third victim told police she and Armstead had sex when she was 14, but she believed they were dating at the time. She went on to tell police about another incident where she said Armstead forced her to perform oral sex.
After Newport News Police conducted their investigation, they charged Armstead with four counts of rape, five counts of forcible sodomy, three counts of abduction, one count of strangulation, one count of indecent exposure and one count of having carnal knowledge of a child between 13 and 15.
WTKR attempted to get a statement from the martial arts studio but our calls went unanswered.
Armstead is behind bars without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 6.
