By robin brown

The News Journal

An employee of a food service company has been charged with rape and nine other sexual crimes against a fellow employee inside a University of Delaware student dining hall in Newark.

Mark W. Mitchell, 57, of Wilmington, was charged with one count of third-degree rape, one count of attempted third-degree rape, four counts of third-degree unlawful sexual contact and four counts of sexual harassment, UD police said Thursday.

He was committed to Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington, after failing to post $54,100 cash bail. He also was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim or the university.

Both Mitchell and the victim work directly for Aramark, a Philadelphia-based company, and are not UD students or employees, UD spokesman John A. Brennan told The News Journal on Thursday night. Aramark officials could not be reached to determine Mitchell's employment status.

The rape, attempted rape and unlawful sexual contacts occurred earlier this month in a back preparation area of an undisclosed dining hall, Brennan said, declining to identify its location, "partly to protect the victim's identity."

"Mitchell worked in the dish room and did not have contact with student customers," Brennan said, although he may have had occasional contact with student employees in that area.

Mitchell was arraigned on the charges at Justice of the Peace Court 11 near New Castle after his arrest on May 17, but the sworn statement of police to support the charges against him – a document that typically includes details of how a crime is alleged to have occurred – was not available Thursday night.

Magistrate court staff said that document, along with his case, was transferred to the Court of Common Pleas, where they could not be immediately accessed Thursday night.

Contact robin brown at (302) 324-2856 or rbrown@delawareonline.com. Find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @rbrowndelaware