"School leaders determined the teen was so prone to acting out that he needed to be kept in class until the end of each passing period." [But was allowed to be unsupervised after school and on the football team.]

ROCKVILLE, Md. (ABC7) — The juvenile suspect — also known as the so-called ringleader in the Damascus High School locker room sexual assaults — will be tried as a juvenile due, in large part, to ADHD.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Steven Salant issued his controversial ruling Thursday morning following nearly seven hours of court proceedings Tuesday. Those proceedings ran like a full-blown trial, during which, attorney Dan Wright crafted a defense grounded in his teenage client’s “extreme ADHD.”..

...“This was a premeditated, planned attack,” Woodward added. “And this wasn’t the first time The evidence shows the defendant was part of a similar attack earlier in the year.”

In fact, during a summer football practice — only a few months before the rape case — the suspect allegedly tried to “broom” a different teammate, but that player managed to break away. The revelation added fuel to the notion that hazing and “brooming” are tradition within Damascus’ revered football program.

Prosecutors also took time to highlight the suspect's “atrocious” school and juvenile criminal records...

...The suspect's Montgomery County Public Schools Record:

In the fall of 2014, he enrolled as a sixth grader at Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg. Almost immediately, the then 11-year-old began to misbehave. By the time police arrested him in the pending broomstick case — some four years later — MCPS had given the suspect 11 suspensions, 61 disciplinary referrals and sent 141 communications home regarding poor conduct. The transgressions included sexual comments, inappropriate touching, threatening remarks, fights, and chronic class cutting...

...In fact, MCPS conducted multiple Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP) for the suspect's benefit. School leaders determined the teen was so prone to acting out that he needed to be kept in class until the end of each passing period. That helped limit the number of hallway distractions. An adult escort was also recommended as an alternative option for the suspect to safely move from class to class...

...Judge Salant also took shots at MCPS for attempting to control the suspect's numerous symptoms, but not seeking to excavate the root cause of that disruptive behavior.

"They wanted him to follow the student code of conduct, but he can't do it... There's clearly a lack of impulse control."..

Fighting Words From the Father of One Victim:

...Following repeated requests, the victim's father says he is scheduled to meet with MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith on the afternoon Friday, March 29. The victim's father explained the meeting will be 45 minutes long. No attorneys are allowed to attend, and the discussion cannot delve into topics of negligence, liability or responsibility...

...The victim's father further shared that two of the four victims are the sons of Montgomery County Police officers, one having recently retired from the force. He believes the suspects — the suspect in particular — hand picked the victims due to their law enforcement ties.

For example, weeks before the locker room attacks, the suspect reportedly stole a gold chain from the son of one officer. Damascus head football coach Eric Wallich threatened to call the police if the chain was not returned. In another instance, the suspect demanded that same boy stop wearing a police department Maryland Special Olympics t-shirt.

"Take the fu----- shirt off! Fu-- the police! Fu-- Montgomery County," the suspect allegedly shouted during the heated ordeal.

“There’s no doubt that two of the victims were targeted because they’re sons of law enforcement...The act of inserting a broom in another man’s rectum is done to degrade and demoralize, retaliate, to injure, to destroy their self-esteem.”..

Prosecuting Judge Salant's Ruling:

...Maryland law prohibits prosecutors from appealing Judge Salant's ruling. Instead, McCarthy expects the juvenile court to sentence the suspect to less than one year. The types of discipline can include a detention center, house arrest, community service, among others.

“I challenge you to call the Department of Corrections to find out how many kids are incarcerated — or being detained in any juvenile facility in the state — who are 19, 20 or 21 years old. I’m going tell you, I think it’s going to be less than five.”

https://wjla.com/news/local/so-called-ringleader-in-damascus-hs-rapes-to-be-tried-as-juvenile-victims-outraged