Outrage in Olney over rape suspect's previous record

Parents complain rape suspect Joshua Black roamed the community virtually unsupervised despite convictions and escalating behavior

OLNEY, Md. — Accused rapist Joshua Black, 31, of Olney, Maryland, was ordered held without bail in Montgomery County Monday after prosecutors outlined Black's extensive record of sex crimes and allegedly sexually motivated stalking, trespassing and harassments.

Black is accused of raping a 14-year old girl in a wooded area of the Hallowell subdivision in Olney Thursday in what District Court Judge Sheri Koch described as a pattern of escalating criminal behavior...

..."We really should not have gotten to this point with this individual. He was never added to the sex offender registry. We have a registry for a reason," Stoddard said.

Stoddard said police were called to the Hallowell Community Pool on May 27 after teens, including his daughter, reported a man apparently masturbating while covered by a towel.

Black was cited for trespassing and banned from the pool, but did not face any sex crime charge under Maryland law, according to Stoddard, who complained that Black remained free to continue roaming the neighborhood on his bicycle despite his extensive record...

Olney community outraged over rape suspect's previous record | wusa9.com

New Trial Granted to Former MCPS Teacher Previously Convicted for Sexually Abusing Students

 

A new trial has been granted for a former Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) elementary school teacher previously convicted of sexually abusing several students.

In 2017, John Vigna, of Silver Spring was found guilty on nine counts involving four victims. Vigna was serving 48 years in prison, but on July 12 was released ahead of a new trial.

Vigna’s conviction was tossed out by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Lease earlier this month after new attorneys for Vigna argued during his first trial, he had “ineffective assistance of counsel.” This was reached after a series of trials from November to March.

Vigna was a 5th and 6th grade teacher at Cloverly Elementary School for 20 years. A 2016 class on “body safety” triggered the investigation that led to his arrest and conviction. the class teaches students how to identify sexual abuse and teachers noted the physical reaction of one student. The investigation led police to ask any potential victims to come forward and five victims named in the 15-count indictment identifying Vigna...

New Trial Granted to Former MCPS Teacher Previously Convicted for Sexually Abusing Students - Montgomery Community Media (mymcmedia.org)

Opinion About that restorative justice

...There were at least 75 incidents that targeted a religious group in MCPS schools this year. An April report found that antisemitic incidents have more than tripled since July 1, 2022. As with all hate, there can be only one perspective: the realization of the impact that antisemitism has on the student victims...

Opinion | About that restorative justice - The Washington Post

Symbol of the fight against racial segregation gets historic designation in Montgomery Co.

A Boyds, Maryland, school named for the Howard University graduate and educator who pushed to improve schools for Black children during segregation has been added to Montgomery County’s master plan for historic preservation.

The county council voted unanimously on July 11 to designate the Edward U. Taylor School a historic site.

When the council took its vote, Council member Andrew Friedson told his colleagues that preserving the history of what he called the “the architecture of racial segregation” creates a way to “educate the public, provide spaces to deliberate past and modern race relations, and discuss social justice and tolerance.”..

Symbol of the fight against racial segregation gets historic designation in Montgomery Co. - WTOP News

‘Put learners first’: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

Major UN report issues warning over excessive use, with one in four countries already banning the devices

Smartphones should be banned from schools to tackle classroom disruption, improve learning and help protect children from cyberbullying, a UN report has recommended.

Unesco, the UN’s education, science and culture agency, said there was evidence that excessive mobile phone use was linked to reduced educational performance and that high levels of screen time had a negative effect on children’s emotional stability.

It said its call for a smartphone ban sent a clear message that digital technology as a whole, including artificial intelligence, should always be subservient to a “human-centred vision” of education, and never supplant face-to-face interaction with teachers...

‘Put learners first’: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools | Unesco | The Guardian

New report includes a troubling revelation that the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office granted the pastor of a Catholic Church blanket protection from prosecution in 1985

Deep within the litany of outrages by the Catholic Church documented by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s report, there is a revelation as shocking as the predatory priests or the religious bureaucracy eager to hide their sins.

Nearly four decades ago, the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office, led then by Warren B. Duckett, granted immunity to a child abuser.

By 1985, angry families at St. Andrew by the Bay near Cape St. Claire demanded that the Archdiocese of Baltimore remove and punish their lead priest, William Simms. Accusations that he had abused multiple children in his care were tumbling out, and parents wanted action. The church in 2002 listed him as credibly accused, the attorney general’s report said.

That July nearly 38 years ago, an Anne Arundel County assistant prosecutor sent a letter to attorneys for the church, Gallagher Evelius & Jones.

“I agree on behalf of the State’s Attorney’s Office not to prosecute Father Simms for any incidents of child abuse he discusses with [county police investigators], no matter how serious, and whether we already know about them or not,” the prosecutor wrote in a letter referenced by the report...

A Maryland prosecutor granted immunity to a predatory priest. Only the truth holds him accountable. - BishopAccountability.org (bishop-accountability.org)

Maryland School Board delays vote on offering embattled State Superintendent new contract [Choudhoury absent from meeting, on vacation]

Baltimore (WBFF) — The Maryland State Board of Education has decided to delay a decision on whether to offer the State Superintendent of Schools another contract. The school board could have voted Tuesday evening to offer Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury a four-year contract but chose to continue deliberating.

The Maryland State Department of Education has come under fire recently. In the last year, there have been reports of a toxic work culture, transparency questions related to the department changing how test scores are reported to the public and concerns over how tax dollars are spent.

Choudhury was absent from Tuesday’s State Board of Education meeting.

“He’s on vacation,” Board President Clarence Crawford told Project Baltimore.

Even though, on that day, the board was scheduled to vote on renewing Choudhury’s contract. That is largely why former Maryland State Department of Education employee Robert Eccles was at the meeting. Because he had a lot to say about MSDE’s leadership under Choudhury.

“Who's taking responsibility for all these glaring leadership failings, and I respectfully ask the board to rethink its working definition of brilliant and transformational leadership,” said Eccles while speaking during public comment. “Transformational leaders actually lead people and don't disparage them. They invite feedback and can take criticism without retaliation. Brilliant leaders prioritize delivering on time. They care more about collaboration than control, and they don't repeatedly trash partners in private and sabotage their access to valuable federal or state resources because of personal grudges.”..

...Project Baltimore, in April, broke the news that the Maryland State Department of Education, without informing the public, changed how it reports test scores. As a result, MSDE hid much of the data behind asterisks. Parents and taxpayers can no longer see how many schools are performing on state tests. When Project Baltimore first tried to speak with Choudhury about it, he locked himself behind a door...

Maryland School Board delays vote on offering embattled State Superintendent new contract | WBFF (foxbaltimore.com)

Judge tosses abuse convictions of Md. teacher, citing bad lawyering

A new trial was ordered for John Vigna, 56, who taught at a Montgomery County elementary school for more than 20 years

A Maryland judge struck down the 2017 sex-abuse convictions of former Montgomery County third-grade teacher John Vigna, ruling that his lawyer performed so badly six years ago that Vigna deserves a new trial over allegations he fondled five students at school.

Vigna, 56, was freed on a $100,000 bond. His 48-year sentence also was thrown out.

“Mr. Vigna has established ineffective assistance of counsel, which requires that his convictions on all counts be vacated,” Montgomery County Circuit Judge David Lease wrote in a 46-page ruling this month.

Lease was unsparing in his findings, asserting that if Vigna’s lawyer had put forth a better defense, the verdict could have been different...

 https://wapo.st/3rLJ0Et

Tech Neck: It can happen even to young teens

Maintain your cervical spine to prevent neck surgery!

Video courtesy of spine surgeon Dr. Brian Su. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ydBb_SPw4

Tech neck, also known as cervical kyphosis, can result from having a hunchback slouch or pitched forward head. This posture is often observed in individuals when they’re looking down at their electronic devices. Not only does this put a lot of strain on your neck and shoulders but it can also lead to both upper back pain and even pain and tingling in the arms and hands. This video demonstrates what Tech Neck is and also provides some key exercises that can be used to maintain a healthy cervical spine.

 

TODAY: Board of Ed. to Vote on Whether School Land is for Cell Tower Companies or Public School Children. Question for @mocoboe: Do you want to keep building cell towers or are you going to focus on using school land for public school children?

 From: Parents Coalition

Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2023 1:05 AM
To: BOE <BOE@mcpsmd.org>; Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org <Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org>; Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org <Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org>; Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org <Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org>; Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org <Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org>; Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org <Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org>; Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org <Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org>; Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org <Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org>; Leslie_E_TurnerPercival@mcpsmd.org <Leslie_E_TurnerPercival@mcpsmd.org>; sami_saeed@mcpsmd.org <sami_saeed@mcpsmd.org>

Subject: Did Seth Adams tell the BOE that a Cell Tower Application was REJECTED because Adams and McKnight CANNOT sign for the BOE?

 

To the members of the Montgomery County Board of Education:

At your July 20, 2023, Board of Education meeting you will once again be told that a Telecommunications Lease Agreement is being presented to you as a courtesy.

THAT IS A LIE.

Agenda Item 9.16 for the Woodwards Road Elementary School site MUST be voted on by the Board of Education.  

Policy ECN DOES NOT give Superintendent McKnight or Seth Adams the power to sign away property rights.  A lease signs away rights in a property.  

The Board of Education is the LAND OWNER and only the LAND OWNER can sign away property rights.  

You have the power to vote to give away property rights or to retain property rights.  It is YOUR CHOICE.  

Do you want to keep giving away school land to private companies? Approve the lease.  

Do you want public school land preserved for public school students? Don't approve the lease. Your choice.

How do we know this?  

What happened to the cell tower on the Woodward High School site?  It's gone! Do you know why?  

The Woodward High School cell tower was removed because YOU did not authorize a new cell tower to be constructed on that property.  

On September 15, 2022, the Hearing Examiner in case CU 22-09 in the OFFICE OF ZONING AND ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS for MONTGOMERY COUNTY determined that the Application for a new cell tower at the Woodward High School site was INCOMPLETE because it was not signed by the LAND OWNER.  The land owner is you, the Board of Education.

[MCPS Office of Facilities Management] Seth Adams was present at that hearing and heard the determination of the Hearing Examiner.  He could not sign in your place.  Because you did not authorize that Application, the Application was withdrawn and the matter closed.

Again, the Hearing Examiner determined that SETH ADAMS COULD NOT SIGN FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.  The Hearing Examiner ruled that there was NO DELEGATION to Seth Adams to sign on behalf of the Board of Education. The Application was deemed incomplete because it was not signed by the LAND OWNER.  

This is not the first time a cell tower application has been withdrawn because the Board of Education (the land owner) did not authorize the project, but it is the most recent time this has happened.

The September 15, 2022, ORDER in CU 22-09 from the OFFICE OF ZONING AND ADMINSTRATIVE HEARINGS for MONTGOMERY COUNTY is attached to this email.  Read it for yourself. 

Today, it's up to you.  

Do you want to keep building cell towers or are you going to focus on using school land for public school children? 

Janis Zink Sartucci

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

CU 22-09 Order Requiring Am... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Former Montgomery County teacher convicted of sexually abusing minors had convictions vacated ahead of new trial

John Vigna had been sentenced to 48 years in prison.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — A former Montgomery County teacher who was convicted of sexual abuse of minors had his convictions vacated on July 7 ahead of his new trial.

John Vigna worked at Cloverly Elementary School and was placed on leave in February 2016 following allegations that he inappropriately touched a student.

Vigna was charged with five counts of sexual abuse of a minor and four counts of third-degree sex offense involving two juvenile female victims. He was sentenced to 48 years in prison...

Former Montgomery County teacher convicted of sexually abusing minors had convictions vacated ahead of new trial | DC News Now

Ex-Montgomery County elementary school teacher released and granted new trial in sexual abuse case

Former Montgomery Co. teacher doing time for sexual abuse granted a new trial by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David W. Lease.

A former Montgomery County, Maryland, elementary school teacher convicted in 2017 of sexually abusing several current and former students has had the convictions against him vacated.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Lease tossed out the convictions after new attorneys for John Vigna argued that he had “ineffective assistance of counsel” during his first trial.

Lease made the decision earlier this month and ordered that Vigna should have a new trial in the case. Vigna was released pending his new trial on a $100,000 bond on July 12...

Former Montgomery Co. teacher doing time for sexual abuse granted a new trial - WTOP News

#BREAKING Former @MCPS teacher John Vigna who was convicted of sexually abusing students in 2017 has had his convictions vacated by a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge David Lease

#BREAKING Former @MCPS teacher John Vigna who was convicted of sexually abusing students in 2017 has had his convictions vacated by a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge. Vigna was serving 48-years in prison, but has now been released ahead of a new trial. @WTOP

— Mike Murillo (@MikeMurilloWTOP) July 18, 2023

Families who invested in Maryland 529 plans win long-fought battle with state over earnings

Published 7/12/2023 5:30 a.m. EDT

Maryland families who use the state’s prepaid tuition program to save for college will get the generous earnings on plan contributions they’ve been pushing for since the state distributed, and then took back, money from thousands of account holders last year, State Treasurer Dereck Davis announced this week.

State lawmakers earlier this year tapped Davis to manage Maryland 529 — the agency that oversees the Maryland Prepaid College Trust — as well as to investigate the factors that led to the program falling into disarray, and to make recommendations about how to move forward. Davis said he found a series of problems so complex and intertwined that he compared the inquiry to peeling an onion...

Families who invested in Maryland 529 plans win long-fought battle with state over earnings - The Baltimore Banner

Oh hey, @mcps @mocoboe have you watched this news report? It's about how your Transportation Department got into trouble.

Remember that former MCPS Director of Transportation Todd Watkins flew to Dallas, Texas in 2015, and met with RICK SORRELLS to sign up for the school bus stop arm camera scheme. 

Now read what Mr. Sorrells was up to in Dallas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In July, Dallas County Schools will be shut down forever. In November 2017 voters acted swiftly to close the 172-year-old agency after more than 100 reports from NBC 5 Investigates revealed corruption and staggering financial mismanagement that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

DCS officials signed risky contracts to outfit school buses in 12 local school districts with exterior cameras that would record drivers ignoring the bus's safety "Stop" arm. The offenders would then be ticketed and the agency would profit. The plan, however, didn't work.

The stories highlighted below reveal how money that was supposed to keep children safe wound up in the pockets of a public official and cost hundreds of people their jobs.

The Characters

Rick Sorrells, former DCS superintendent forced to retire in 2017 amidst questions about the finances at DCS. In April 2018, Sorrells pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and admitted to receiving more than $3 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for entering into contracts for $70 million in school bus camera equipment. He's expected to be sentenced in August.

 Behind the Cameras: The Fall of Dallas County Schools – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (nbcdfw.com)

6th Person Sent to Prison in Scheme that Brought School Bus Stop Arm Cameras to Montgomery County, MD. MCPS Fmr Dir Todd Watkins Met with Rick Sorrells in Dallas. @mcps @mocoboe

Reminder:  In 2015, MCPS former Director of Transportation Todd Watkins flew to Dallas and met with Dallas Schools Superintendent Rick Sorrells to discuss school bus stop arm cameras through the vendor Force Multiplier Solutions.  Todd Watkins signed MCPS to participate in this no bid scheme and it is still in use today.  After the company was investigated and 6 people connected to the scheme were convicted and sentenced, the company changed its name and became Bus Patrol America. 

Lawyer Sentenced to Prison for Concealing Bribes in DCS Scandal

By Scott Friedman • Published December 10, 2020 • Updated on December 10, 2020 at 3:53 pm

A federal judge in Dallas has sentenced an attorney to six months in federal prison for his role in the bribery scandal that spelled the end of Dallas County Schools, the agency that used to operate the school buses for Dallas ISD and a number of other local school districts. 

New Orleans lawyer Richard Reynolds is the sixth person to be sentenced in connection with an FBI investigation into the financial collapse of DCS, a scandal first uncovered in a months-long NBC 5 investigation.

Reynolds admitted he used his law firm to help facilitate and conceal some of the bribe payments made by school bus camera company owner Robert Leonard to Dallas County schools superintendent Rick Sorrells. Leonard and Sorrells are currently serving seven-year terms in federal prison, for their roles in the scheme which involved more than $3 million dollars in bribes and kickbacks which Sorrells spent on items including a Maserati, jewelry, and a luxury New Orleans vacation apartment, where NBC 5 Investigates found Sorrells in 2017.

The scandal at DCS stretched all the way to Dallas City Hall, where Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway admitted taking $450,000 in bribes, some of that in exchange for a vote that allowed the DCS bus camera program to continue operating. Caraway is serving a four and a half year...

Lawyer Sentenced to Prison for Concealing Bribes in DCS Scandal – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (nbcdfw.com)

Bus Patrol America, BusPatrol, David McBain, Force Multiplier Solutions, Marc Elrich, Richard Hetherington, Todd Watkins, Tom Didone, Rick Sorrells, Richard Reynolds, Robert Leonard, Dwaine Caraway, Slater Swartwood Sr, Larry Duncan