Cases conclude, behind closed doors, for two teens charged in Damascus High School locker room attacks

Court cases concluded this week for two of the remaining four Maryland teenagers accused in a 2018 locker-room sexual assault involving a broom stick at Damascus High School, but the outcomes in juvenile court could not be learned immediately.

The teenagers, ages 15 and 16, appeared in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Wednesday and Thursday in Rockville, where Judge Mary Beth McCormick ordered the proceedings closed and directed participants, including attorneys for the victims and the victims’ families, not to discuss the outcomes.

Before closing the courtroom, McCormick ruled that protecting the interests of the victims and the suspects outweighed access. “I understand that people want to know what happens in this case,” she said Thursday, adding, “At the end of the day, my charge is to help the rehabilitation of these children.”

The Washington Post asked in writing before the hearings to stay during the proceedings.

A reporter for The Post also went to the courtroom at the start of each teen’s hearing, which opened with statements about how the teens had earlier pleaded in the case. Before the bulk of the hearings got underway — during which the specific plea deals and possible punishments were expected to be discussed — defense attorneys asked that the judge clear the courtroom of anyone not directly connected to the case.

McCormick agreed...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/cases-conclude-behind-closed-doors-for-two-teens-charged-in-damascus-high-school-locker-room-attacks/2019/08/15/23bf5306-bf82-11e9-9b73-fd3c65ef8f9c_story.html