Tuesday, May 21, 2019

MCPS fires Damascus JV football staff

DAMASCUS – Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Jack Smith told reporters on May 14 that members of the Damascus High School staff have been disciplined to varying degrees in the aftermath of a recent investigation of supervision.
Athletic Director (AD) Joe Doody, junior varsity head coach Vincent Colbert and the entire JV coaching staff were removed from their positions within the school’s athletic department as school officials finalize a two-month investigation.
More than five months have passed since four freshmen on the junior varsity football team were allegedly sexually assaulted with a wooden broomstick by their teammates. The incident occurred in a campus locker room after school on Oct. 31.
Since then, Circuit Court Judge Steven Salant transferred all four suspects, who had been charged as adults, to juvenile court. The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office began an investigation as to whether the rape was an isolated incident.
For nearly two months, MCPS investigated supervisory and reporting practices at Damascus, specifically on the afternoon of the alleged incident. MCPS determined the junior varsity football team was unsupervised between about 2:50 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., during which the alleged victims were apparently sodomized with a broomstick. The JV coaches who would have supervised the players in the locker room were “delayed” in reaching the school but insufficiently informed other coaches of that fact.
The investigation also considered reporting of the incident to the police and to the central office staff...

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