Michaella Henry claims Chukwudi 'Chudi' Ikpeazu sexually assaulted her at Phillips Exeter Academy, which had him bake bread for her by way of apology

An elite boarding school had a student track star bake bread as an apology to a 17-year-old girl he allegedly sexually assaulted in a church basement instead of reporting the incident to the police.

Michaella Henry, a student at the prestigious, $48,550-a-year Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, told school officials that Chukwudi 'Chudi' Ikpeazu groped her.

She claimed last October that Ikpeazu, a 6ft 8ins athlete for the school, slipped his hands inside her shirt and squeezed her breast and bottom despite her repeatedly saying 'no'.

After two months of panic attacks, Michaella - who spoke to the Boston Globe - agreed to meet with Ikpeazu and the school's minister Reverend Robert Thompson.

During the meeting inside the campus church where she claims she was assaulted, Ikpeazu is said to have admitted what he had done was wrong.

Astonishingly, instead of reporting this to the police, Rev Thompson urged Ikpeazu to bake bread and deliver it to Michaella every week as an act of 'penance'.

The reverend praised Michaella, telling her she 'did a great service for Chudi, because you gave him an opportunity to express his regret and to take responsibility for what he had done'.

Michaella said the weekly deliveries made life harder for her as she had to relive her alleged assault every time he dropped off the bread.

'I was so ashamed of it. I was being reminded once a week that he assaulted me,' Michaella said.

Meanwhile, Ikpeazu went back to his popular life at the school, where he competed at shot put and long jump and was known for the cinnamon 'monkey bread' he baked and sold on campus.

Michaella, a student at the prestigious, $48,550-a-year Phillips Exeter Academy (pictured) in New Hampshire, told school officials that Ikpeazu groped her

The school did not immediately tell the authorities or Michaella's parents about the incident, she claims.

Michaella was later told by a friend that she was not the only girl to accuse of Ikpeazu of sexual misconduct.

'Apparently, if you’re a girl doing work alone in a church basement, it means you’re willing to have sex with someone,' the friend said, before telling Michaella that she had to push Ikpeazu away after he groped her too.

The two girls took their complaints to Exeter's dean of residential life, AJ Cosgrove, in April.

In the meeting, Michaella says Cosgrove told them: 'The good news is you don’t have to report this to the police because there was no penetration.'

She also claims that Rosanna Salcedo, dean of multicultural affairs, told her not to contact the police because it would make matters more complicated.

Michaella claimed Ikpeazu (pictured left and right) slipped his hands inside her shirt and squeezed her breast and bottom despite her repeatedly saying 'no'.

Dean of students Melissa Mischke wrote in a letter to Michaella's parents that their daughter was sexually harassed, rather than sexually assaulted.

Under Exeter's school rules, sexual harassment does not have to be reported to the police.

The letter said: 'We determined that [Ikpeazu's] actions with Michaella and the other female student constituted sexual harassment.'

Mischke added that the bread delivery arrangement was 'more harmful than good since it caused Chudi and Michaella to intersect on campus more regularly than necessary'.

She added that an internal investigation by the school found that Ikpeazu 'violated ... policies on sexual harassment and sexual misconduct because he touched Michaella's bottom and breast under her clothing after she expressed to him that she did not want to engage in sexual activity'.

Michaella's mother, Andrea, told the Globe that she was 'beside myself' after finding out what happened.

'You don’t know what to do. My child was in their care. I was worried about her life,' she said.

Reverend Robert Thompson organized the bread arrangement, while dean of residential life AJ Cosgrove is said to have told Michaella she did not need to involve the police 'because there was no penetration'

Finally, after growing frustrated by the school's lack of action and her increasing panic attacks, Michaella went to the police in May.

Ikpeazu turned himself into a police station on June 3 and was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bail. He will be arraigned in August.

Ikpeazu declined to comment to the Globe, as did Rev Thompson, Cosgrove and Salcedo.

A school spokeswoman declined to comment because of the ongoing police investigation.

Police are also probing the school's handling of the case, as well as its attitude to sexual offences in general, a source said.

Phillips Exeter Academy costs $48,550 in fees for boarding students, and $37,875 for day students.