A karate instructor is facing a sexual assault of a child charge after he allegedly raped a boy at a karate camp in Texas, per an arrest affidavit.
The alleged rape occurred a few years ago at the Safety America Karate school in Sugar Land and has led to charges against the now 30-year-old William Propper, according to court records.
The victim was 13 or 14 at the time of the alleged assault in 2022 or 2023, according to the affidavit.
A detective with the Sugar Land Police Department was assigned the case on Jan. 31, after the boy’s mother contacted police about the alleged sexual assault. The boy’s mother allegedly told police that her son “disclosed to her” that Propper had raped her son in a staff bathroom at the karate school, per the affidavit.
The boy told a trained forensic interviewer that Propper had been his karate instructor since 2018.
“The victim explained that it occurred while he was attending the Safety Karate school in Sugar Land during the summer for a summer camp,” according to the affidavit. “The victim explained that suspect “offered to ‘try out sex’ and suspect told him that he was mature enough now to have sex.”
“When (the victim) told Suspect that it had hurt, Suspect told (the boy) that he had to get used to it,” according to the court records.
After the alleged rape, Propper “told him to keep what happened in the bathroom a secret,” according to the affidavit.
“There has been an allegation made against an employee of Safety America resulting in his arrest. The employee has been placed on leave from Safety America pending the results of an investigation,” the karate school said in a statement. “Classes will resume as normal. Sensei Gifford will be taking charge of karate instruction effective today. We appreciate your understanding and support during this difficult time.”
Propper has now been charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child, records show.
He was arrested on Sat. Feb. 1, and is free on a $75,000 bond.
The case has yet to be submitted to the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office.
He is scheduled to appear in court on March 17.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
