The Madison School District, still reeling from an October rape at West High School, has been hit with a fresh allegation as Madison Police investigate the possibility of another sexual assault of a student at West High School.

Two sophomore students, a boy and a girl, were found together in a compromising position inside a West High School service elevator Tuesday afternoon by a teacher who said she heard noises coming from inside, according to a letter district officials sent out to teachers.

Madison police are investigating the incident, which they refer to as a “possible sexual assault.”

The letter from officials said, “it was brought to our intention that she (the female student) felt intimidated, threatened or coerced.”

The elevator in which the students were discovered is not in an easily accessible area, officials said in the letter.

“The investigation has revealed that the students made an effort to access a restricted stairwell. It took some effort and planning on their part to be able to gain access to this otherwise secure area of the building,” the letter read.

The investigation comes two months after a 16-year-old student was arrested and charged with raping a fellow classmate in a secluded stairwell at West High School.

Several days after that arrest, Madison School District spokesman Joe Quick told The Badger Herald that district officials planned to improve school security.

“We plan to walk through [West High] and look for areas that might be dangerous,” said Quick, who also stressed the impracticality of maintaining safety for the school’s entire student body. “There are 2,000 students at West High School. It is impossible to keep an eye on everyone,” he said.

West High principal Loren J. Rathert sent a letter home with students to inform their parents that a student at the high school had been sexually assaulted on school grounds and that counselors would be on hand to talk to students disturbed by the incident.

“We will be examining access to all hallways, corridors, stairwells and elevators,” the letter stated. “Lighting, security cameras, and building supervision are being reviewed, and changes will be implemented.”

The suspect in the September rape, who has since been charged with first-degree sexual assault, has a lengthy rap sheet and served time in a juvenile facility in Feb. 2001 for stealing a car.

His record prompted district officials to launch a probe into the student records of Madison public schools students, revealing that one out of every 100 students attending Madison public schools had been convicted of a crime.

District officials declined to specify the severity of the convictions, which range from shoplifting and fighting to felonies.

West High School was found to have the third-highest number of criminally convicted students (31), coming in behind La Follete (45), and Memorial (34).