'I feel betrayed': Father's longtime friend charged with sexually abusing his son with special needs

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The father of a boy with special needs who said a family friend sexually abused him is fearful that the woman has other victims.

Charlene Kornegay, 41, was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14. She was processed into jail but immediately posted bond last week.

SEE MORE: Babysitter accused of sexually assaulting 13-year-old boy in custody, records show

ABC13 agreed to conceal the identity of the man to protect his son. He said he feels hurt, angry, and betrayed.

He said he was longtime friends with Kornegay and never had any suspicions.

"You could be around a person all your life, and they will still betray you in the most horrendous way," the father said.

The boy, who was 13 years old at the time, went to his father first to describe what happened to him.

Once his father heard the allegations, he said he started to think back on previous interactions with Kornegay.

"I'm thinking that she's just being a really good friend," the father said. "She took him to a hotel to swim, and now that I think about it, she might have touched him in that hotel."

The father believes that his longtime friend was grooming not only his son but him as well. He said she would offer to watch his son so that he could have alone time to himself. She would also invite the boy over to play video games with her son, according to the father.

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"He was a happy going little kid until she did that to my son," the father said.

His son told him little by little about what happened, according to the father. After he found out enough, he confronted Kornegay.

"'I promise I would never do this to your son,'" he said she told him. "'I would never do this to your son.' And the stuff that he was telling me, he's never been exposed to the things that he was telling me, so I knew that was false."

After that, the father said he cut off all contact with her.

Because of his son's special needs, the father said he has a hard time expressing himself. He has noticed a dramatic change in his behavior since the alleged abuse and said he is really struggling. He is contemplating homeschooling the boy, who is now 15 years old.

He hopes his son's story will encourage others to come forward with their stories of sexual abuse.

Statistics show that only 19% of people with disabilities who are raped or sexually abused report it, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, compared to 36% of people without disabilities.

"My motivation is to raise awareness for all special needs kids, not just mine, because of the power to give them a voice," the father said. "The power to tell them it's OK to come out. We have people that have your back, and we have people that will stand up for you."

Kornegay's attorney said that his client maintains her innocence at this time. She is due back in court on July 18.

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