A man has been arrested for apparently walking into the Durham School of the Arts and accosting two 11-year-old girls in one of the school’s bathrooms.

UPDATE: Neal Maxcitto Harding was convicted on Sept. 8, 2021, of assault with a deadly weapon. He is currently incarcerated, however, it is unclear from jail records for how long. In 2009, Harding had been convicted of possession of a firearm by a minor and was given a suspended sentence of 24 months of supervised probation.

NEAL MAXCITTO HARDING

Neal Maxcitto Harding, age 29, was arrested on Nov. 16 and charged with four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child, First-degree kidnapping, Assault on a child under 12, Indecent exposure, Felonious breaking and entering, and First-degree trespassing.

Harding was given a bond of over $1 million and is currently in custody at the Durham County Detention Center.

The incident apparently took place in October. CBS 17 obtained the warrant documents which indicated Harding was caught on surveillance video and was in the school for at least 20 minutes.

The CBS 17 report seems to imply Harding was not apprehended on the scene, but later on after an office recognized his photo in a bulletin that was released.

Public records show Harding has an extensive criminal record.

He was most recently convicted in a Durham court on Sept. 8 of this year and was given a suspended sentence and was assigned 24 months of probation. The conviction is likely related to charges against him on Mar. 15, 2021, of Breaking and Entering with Intent to terrorize or injure.

Additionally, records show Harding was arrested on Aug. 19, 2014, in Durham on three charges including breaking and entering, injury to real property, and larceny of a firearm.
His bail at that time was apparently set at $750,000.

Harding was also arrested in Durham in 2010 on a charge of possession of a firearm by a minor. He was convicted on that charge on July 19, 2010, but was given a suspended sentence and probation.