Friday: Sentencing of Cloverly ES Teacher on Sex Abuse of Minor and Third Degree Sex Offense Verdicts, Still on MCPS Payroll in March

For 4 days in June, a long time Montgomery County Public School teacher was on trial for sexual abuse of 6 elementary school students over a period of 16 years.  The trial was held before a packed courtroom with an overflow crowd standing in the hallway. A prayer circle was held in the hallway outside the courtroom.  

After midnight on the last day of the trial, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on:

COUNT 1: CHILD ABUSE SEXUAL- GUILTY. 

COUNT 2: SEX OFFENSE THIRD DEGREE- GUILTY. 

COUNT 3: SEX ABUSE MINOR- GUILTY. 

COUNT 4: SEX OFFENSE THIRD DEGREE- GUILTY.

COUNT 5: SEX OFFENSE THIRD DEGREE- GUILTY. 

COUNT 7 :SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR- GUILTY. 

COUNT 8 : SEX OFFENSE THIRD DEGREE- GUILTY. 

COUNT 9 : SEX OFFENSE THIRD DEGREE - GUILTY. 

COUNT 10: SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR - GUILTY. 

The testimony presented at the trial revealed that the teacher had two reprimands in his personnel file for having students sit on his lap. The reprimands were from 2008 and 2013. Students testified that he was their favorite teacher and popular in the school. The teacher testified that he loved his students and that if he had to stop hugging them and allowing them to sit on his lap he did not want to be a teacher. 

The Board of Education did not remove this teacher from the classroom, even though there were multiple complaints about his practice of permitting female students to "lap sit."  The Cloverly Elementary School principal testified that she had followed Board of Education protocol.

We know from recent MCPS salary information that this teacher was still on the MCPS payroll as of March 2017, almost a year after his first arrest on these charges. 

March 2017, MCPS Payroll 

The Parents' Coalition has been providing the public with notes from the trial as the the trial was not covered by any media. 

Sentencing is scheduled for August 4, 2017, at 1:30 PM in the Montgomery County Circuit Court.  The Defendant's Motion for New Trial will also be heard at that time.  The teacher could face 25 years in prison for each count of sex abuse of a minor and 10 years for each third degree sex offense.