McKnight told the audience that counselors from the district’s employee assistance program were in attendance, in case leaders who were friends with Beidleman wanted to talk, attendees said.

 

MCPS hires law firm to investigate alleged misconduct of principal

...At Monday’s annual administrative and supervisory meeting for about 800 Montgomery supervisors, principals, assistant principals and other leaders, attendees reported that McKnight briefly acknowledged the report in The Post, referring to it as “the elephant in the room.” She said the school system would thoroughly investigate what she called “the allegations,” said four attendees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on internal district matters...

https://wapo.st/3KF4NUM

Many MCPS teachers said a principal sexually harassed them. The Board of Education promoted him. @mcps @mocoboe Washington Post Interviewed 45 MCPS Staff Members.

Educators and others reported Joel Beidleman to Montgomery County Public Schools 18 times in seven years. It made no difference.

...In the living room, Beidleman told her: “You should just f--- me. Everybody thinks you should,” according to the complaint and two of those present. He turned to his co-workers and asked them: “Don’t you think she should just f--- me?” The teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she fears retaliation from Beidleman and MCPS, quickly left...

...These and other accounts detail a pattern of harassment, threats, retaliations, workplace bullying and other inappropriate conduct spanning at least 12 years across three campuses...

...Until last week, MCPS treated Beidleman as a rising star. Despite six staff members’ reports to MCPS about his conduct in 2023, officials promoted him in June to run Paint Branch High School...

...MCPS, which conducted Beidleman’s regular five-year performance review this year, did not answer any further questions about details in this story, including those asking how it tracks reports about misconduct, who is responsible for collecting them and whether the superintendent is ever informed...

...MCPS’s announcement of Beidleman’s new role was especially surprising to the social studies teacher, whose February sexual harassment, workplace bullying and retaliation complaint alleges Beidleman monitored the camera outside her classroom and grilled her when a male colleague visited...

https://wapo.st/3OuKn1Y

Montgomery County math teacher charged with child pornography possession

 

A math teacher at Roberto W. Clemente Middle School in Germantown was arrested Wednesday on multiple counts of possessing child pornography, authorities said. The alleged offenses do not involve students.

Kevin Bremerman, 35, has been placed on administrative leave from the Montgomery County school system. He began working there in 2017, teaching at Goshen Elementary School for three years, and had been at Roberto Clemente since July, according to school officials.

The investigation started in January after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip from the instant messaging app Kik that a user was possibly uploading child pornography, according to arrest records filed in court. That user was determined to be Bremerman, police said. They searched his residence Monday and say they found “numerous videos and photographs of child pornography on his cellular phone.”..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/teacher-charged-in-child-porn-case/2021/03/31/3a810d94-9269-11eb-9668-89be11273c09_story.html

MCPS Middle School Teacher Charged with Ten Counts of Possession of Child Pornography

 For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Detectives from the Special Victims Investigations Division – Child Exploitation Unit have arrested and charged Kevin Bremerman, age 35, of Damascus Park Terrace in Damascus, with ten counts of possession of child pornography.

Bremerman is currently a middle school teacher at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown. These offenses do not involve students; however, investigators are concerned due to the nature of these offenses and Bremerman's daily interactions with children.

This investigation began in January when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip from an instant messaging mobile app that a user of that app was possibly uploading child pornography. The user was determined to be residing in Montgomery County; the Montgomery County Police Department was notified and began an investigation.

During the investigation, Bremerman was identified as a suspect.

On March 29, investigators searched Bremerman's residence on the strength of a search warrant and located numerous videos and photographs of child pornography on his cellular phone.

This morning, Bremerman was arrested and transported to the Central Processing Unit. Bond information is not available at this time.

As stated previously, Bremerman's current teaching assignment is at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown. Bremerman has been placed on administrative leave by the school system. Inquiries regarding his employment should be directed to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).

Kevin Bremerman (Original Image)

Breaking: Former MCPS Substitute Teacher Jose Pineda Deported. Did not Serve Out Term. Not Registered as Sex Offender.

Former MCPS substitute teacher and bus driver Jose Pineda, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison, 5 years of probation, and the requirement to register as a sex offender in 2015 for the sexual abuse of MCPS students, did not serve out that sentence.


As of today, Jose Pineda is shown in Maryland Judiciary Case Search as having been deported.

Why was he deported? What was his status when he was working for MCPS as a bus driver and as a substitute teacher? 


Jose Pineda did not serve his 5 year prison sentence, is not on 5 years of probation, and is not a registered sex offender.  He is somewhere in the world free of the constraints of his sentence.  He is not being monitored by a probation officer.  Have the officials in the country he was deported to been notified of his conviction?  Is he again working with children? 

Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy spoke about the possibility of Jose Pineda being deported after his sentencing in May of 2015.  State's Attorney McCarthy said:

"He should serve his time before he is deported because unfortunately what we have seen in the past is individuals who have been summarily deported, gone back to their home country, and then simply snuck back in to the United States... More importantly, he'll be put on the Sex Offender Registry for the remainder of his life."  
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Former-Substitute-Teacher-Gets-Five-Year-Sentence-for-Sex-Abuse-of-Students-305515331.html

Below are some articles to remind readers about Jose Pineda's arrest and conviction.  Remember that Jose Pineda was one of the MCPS employees who was known to have misconduct incidents involving inapproriate touching of children, but was allowed to continue working in MCPS classrooms.

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

Former substitute teacher sentenced for sex offenses
May 29, 2015

WASHINGTON — A former Montgomery County substitute teacher will go to prison and will have to register as a sex offender for abuse that one victim says began back as far as 2004.

Jose Pineda, a Gaithersburg 50-year-old, pleaded guilty to two counts — one count of sex abuse of a minor and one count of a 3rd degree sex offense. On Friday, a judge sentenced him to 10 years on each count with all but five years suspended. 

Judge Joseph Dugan explained the sentences would be concurrent, meaning that Pineda will spend a total of five years in prison, and then will face supervised probation with a number of conditions including having to register as a sex offender every three months for the rest of his life...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2015/05/former-substitute-teacher-sentenced-for-sex-offenses/

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Monday, June 1, 2015

...But Assistant State’s Attorney Timothy Hagan said Pineda violated the trust students put in their teachers. He said Pineda had been reprimanded by administrators at two schools for inappropriate sexual conduct...

...The victim who was molested in 2004 said she and her mother had reported the incident to school officials, but Pineda was allowed to continue teaching...

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-victim-who-was-molested-in-2004.html

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November 8, 2014

Montgomery County school officials are reviewing their parental
notification procedures after conceding that a mistake was made at Roberto
Clemente Middle School in Germantown.

The school’s principal, Khadija Barkley, sent a letter home to parents on
Friday, informing them that a substitute teacher was accused of having
inappropriate contact with a student September 30. The principal apologized for
not telling parents sooner...

https://wtop.com/news/2014/11/after-principals-apology-a-push-to-keep-parents-informed/#ixzz3IcP7Vw8m

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Friday, November 14, 2014

WPost: Montgomery County police said Friday that between five and 10 other students have come forward following recent school system notifications...

...The latest case involved a substitute teacher, Jose Pineda, 50, at Roberto Clemente Middle School who is accused of inappropriately touching a 12-year-old girl. Pineda was arrested Oct. 14, on a charge of child abuse, and the Germantown school’s parents learned about it on Nov. 7.
Montgomery County police said Friday that between five and 10 other students have come forward following recent school system notifications about Pineda’s arrest. Police said that the investigation is ongoing and that they could not provide details about any of the students’ accounts.
The case at Clemente Middle comes amid an uproar at John T. Baker Middle School in Damascus, Md., where parents were angered that almost a month passed before they were notified that a contractor, John E. Epps Jr., was arrested for allegedly touching a 12-year-old girl inappropriately in a school hallway...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/parents-concerned-about-handling-of-inappropriate-contact-with-students/2014/11/14/25ce465c-6852-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html 

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

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Police Press Conference: 9 more students came forward

Montgomery County Police held a press conference at 11 AM on Thursday, December 4, 2014, regarding the arrest of MCPS substitute teacher Jose Pineda.

The press conference video is in two parts. The first part is just about 2 minutes in length. The second video is 30 minutes.

Jose Pineda employment history:

2000-2003 MCPS school bus operator
2003-2006 MCPS substitute teacher

2006-2013 not employed by MCPS

2013-2014 MCPS substitute teacher - worked 111 times in 20 different schools

• Police want any one with information to contact them at this number: 240-773-5400.
• Where did Mr. Pineda work during the years when he was not with MCPS? If anyone in the community knows, please contact the Montgomery County Police.
• If any doubt that a law has been broken, police should be called.
• If parents think that a child has been victimized and a law has been broken they should call the police.
• There was somewhat of a delay in getting information to the police. (September 30th incident.)
• If anyone believes there has been a criminal offense the police should be called right away. 
• MCPS was notified of today's press conference, but did not participate

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2014/12/police-press-conference-9-more-students.html

MCPS sent letter home today AFTER @ABC7News inquired about case. Stanback recently worked at Paint Branch HS, Mont. Village MS + Clemente MS

MCPS sent letter home today after @ABC7News inquired about case. Stanback recently worked at Paint Branch HS, Mont. Village MS + Clemente MS pic.twitter.com/2PZ5CWvrQO

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) September 28, 2016

Breaking: Ex-MCPS custodian impregnates teen he met online, police say

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (ABC7) — A former Montgomery County Public Schools custodian is accused of impregnating a 15-year-old girl he met online.
Police have charged Gary Anthony Stanback, 27, of Frederick, with one count of third-degree sex offense.
According to criminal charging documents, in November 2015, Stanback contacted the victim on Facebook under the account name, “Anthony Richboy.” Following three weeks of back-and-forth messages, Stanback and the young girl met in person. Two weeks later, they met again at Stewartown Local Park along Goshen Road in Gaithersburg...

http://wjla.com/news/local/ex-mcps-custodian-impregnates-teen-he-met-online-police-say

2 Incidents at Clemente Middle School

From: "ROBERTO CLEMENTE MIDDLE SCHOOL" Date: May 12, 2015 at 11:14:08 AM EDT Subject: Items for your Attention   ROBERTO  CLEMENTE MIDDLE SCHOOL 18808 WARING STATION ROAD • GERMANTOWN, MARYLAND  20874 PHONE: 301-601-0344 • FAX: 301-601-0370 Office of the Principal Dear Parent/Guardian: I want to share with you information about two incidents that occurred at school and how these matters were handled by our staff.  It was brought to our attention that a knife was found in a student's locker on Thursday, May 7, 2015 and a toy gun was on school property on Friday, May 8, 2015. Administration retrieved the knife from the student's locker and it was investigated by the Montgomery County Police Department. The police retrieved the toy gun from the home of the student. We do not believe either of the students intended to harm or frighten anyone, but both students will face appropriate consequences aligned to the MCPS Code of Conduct. Please remind your child that weapons of any type, including fake weapons, are not permitted at school. It is important that students feel safe at all times. I appreciate your help and support as we continue to maintain a safe and secure school environment. I wanted to make sure you were informed should you hear about the incidences in our community. If you have further questions, please contact me at 301-601-0344.   Sincerely, Khadija F. Barkley Primcipal KFB/ts

Clemente Middle School: "A student found a bullet in school."

A message from ROBERTO CLEMENTE MIDDLE SCHOOL

April 1, 2015 Dear Parents: I want to share with you information about an event that affected our school today and how it was handled by our staff.  A student found a bullet in school.  The bullet was confiscated from the student by MCPS staff. Police were notified and the incident is under investigation. This is a very serious matter, and we ask that you to remind your children that weapons of any kind - even toy weapons-are not allowed on school property. If your child becomes aware that someone at the school has a weapon, remind them to tell a member of the staff immediately. If you have further questions, please call the school at 301-601-0344.  We will make every effort to answer your questions as quickly as possible.                                                                                     Sincerely,                                                                                      Khadija F. Barkley                                                                                     Principal KFB/ts Copy to:  Dr. Williams, Community Superintendent

Cell tower proposed to be built on Clemente grounds

...“Once the tower goes up Verizon needs to have 24/7 hour access to the school,” Johnson said, explaining that with recent allegations in the school system that was a concern among parents.
Last month, a contractor who provided maintenance to the school’s security camera systems was arrested on charges of groping a student at John T. Baker Middle School in Damascus.
According to Johnson, the decision is in the hands of Barkley, but some people who attended the meeting thought that the decision shouldn’t be at the discretion of one person.
“Mrs. Barkley is not making this decision alone. She has all the members of the administration, she has the PTSA,” Johnson said. “She wants her parent community to support whatever decision is made.”
Some people at the meeting wanted to take a vote, but Johnson wouldn’t allow that step just yet because the meeting was informational rather than for a decision...
 
 http://www.gazette.net/article/20141119/NEWS/141119244/1022/cell-tower-proposed-to-be-built-on-clemente-grounds&template=gazette

Former School Teacher Held on $150k Bond in Sex Abuse Case

Jose Pineda, a former substitute teacher who was recently arrested and charged with having inappropriate contact with several Montgomery County Public Schools students, will continue to be held on $150,000 bond after a bond hearing was held today in Montgomery County District Court.
Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Spokesman Ramon Korionoff said the former teacher remains in custody after the hearing Monday afternoon...

 http://www.mymcmedia.org/former-school-teacher-held-on-150k-bond-in-sex-abuse-case/

Video: Parents Say No to Cell Tower at Clemente Middle School

There was no support at the November 11th parent meeting for Superintendent Joshua Starr's proposal to build a cell tower on the Clemente Middle School playground.

Why are education dollars being wasted by MCPS staff on this proposal?  

Parents Outraged at Lack of Communication At Roberto Clemente Middle School

Parents of students at Roberto Clemente Middle School remain outraged at school administrators for waiting over three weeks to inform them of the arrest of a substitute teacher on sexual abuse charges related to an incident that happened at the school.

   Roberto Clemente Principal Khadija Barkley apologized for not informing parents sooner in the letter which also served to inform parents about the incident...

 http://www.germantownpulse.net/#!Parents-Outraged-at-Lack-of-Communication-At-Roberto-Clemente/cjds/A19990D4-CDE1-4389-88B4-830347637C63

Nov. 11th 7 PM Meeting - Clemente MS to put Outside Contractors on Playground

Just what MCPS schools need, more strangers on public school property.  

Cell towers bring many contractors and sub-contractors on to public school playgrounds 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It doesn't matter if school is in session or if students are on the fields. Cell tower workers and diesel fuel truck drivers show up on public school grounds unsupervised. 

 

On Tuesday, November 11th the Clemente Middle School principal will present Superintendent Joshua Starr's plan for a cell tower compound on the Clemente playground.  The meeting starts at 7 PM.

 

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

 

Tuesday – November 11, 2014, 7 - 9pm

PTSA TownHall - Cell Tower Proposal at RCMS - Roberto Clemente MS is a proposed new location for a cell phone tower. A parent information meeting will be held on November 11, 2014 at 7pm in the RCMS cafeteria to hear about the proposal and decision making process. Feeder elementary families are especially invited because a percentage of the annual generated revenue is allocated to the local elementary schools. Please come out and hear the pros and cons to this proposal. Let your voice be heard!

Open Letter to Clemente Middle School Principal Regarding "Incident"

The Parents' Coalition received the following comment in response to the letter from the Clemente Middle School principal announcing that there had been an "incident" at the school. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







Here is my response to Friday's notification. It was initially drafted exclusively for the Principal, but since I'm not expecting a response any time soon, and I share your frustrations, I'll post it as an open letter:

Principal Barkley,

I am writing because I have questions regarding the timing and manner of how the suspected abuse incident has been reported.

1. I understand it was ultimately your decision to withhold information to parents. Was this decision based on a recommendation? If so, was it from the police or school system?

2. What is the impetus for informing parents of the incident now, given that the arrest was made on October 14th? The timing of a 5pm message on a Friday, through a proxy, and weeks after the incident, does not inspire me to believe communication to parents is of primary concern.

3. Are other incidents you would like to inform the parents of at this time? Prior to this notification, I was under the impression that communication between parents and Roberto Clemente staff was both timely and comprehensive. Given current developments, I may have to revisit that assumption.

4. Your communication, delivered via Dr. Awkard, states that the students were supported. Can you please elaborate on how the students were supported? The effects of sexual abuse can manifest in different ways, and a cursory statement--accuracy notwithstanding--falls short of a thorough explanation of how students (children) were kept safe or otherwise rehabilitated.

A few years ago, I tried to get my daughter transferred from Roberto Clemente Middle School. You took exception to my action, and asked me to your office to explain myself. One of my reasons for requesting the transfer was a report highlighting a higher prevalence of sexual assault at Roberto Clemente Middle School compared to other MCPS schools. In our face-to-face conversation, you suggested that other schools may have a similarly high rate of sexual assault, but that it might be underreported at those schools. Are we bearing witness to proper reporting now? if so, no apology is warranted. If not, I recommend a review and revision of the notification policy.

I look forward to your response.

Roberto Clemente Middle School Substitute Arrested in Sex Scandal

...Roberto Clemente parents are upset.

   “I am extremely disturbed by this on many fronts,” said Kimmi Photinakis, a parent of a student at Roberto Clemente. “I am glad that the man had been immediately removed from the classroom and not allowed at any MCPS school since but what about other local school districts? Will he be able to get work elsewhere?”

After speaking with a number Roberto Clemente parents, it turns out that this is the second time a substitute at Roberto Clemente has been removed for inappropriate behavior. Three years ago, parents say, a teacher was removed for discussing Internet pornography in the classroom.

“I do not agree with waiting so long to communicate to parents,” said Photinakis, who is a member of the Roberto Clement Parent Teacher Association. “We have a right to know when something as serious as this happens immediately. Three-and-a-half-weeks after an arrest has been made is unacceptable. What was the delay?”

 http://www.germantownpulse.net/#!Roberto-Clemente-Middle-School-Substitute-Arrested-in-Sex-Scandal/cjds/DB94066A-351C-4CDB-8060-125F78FBE613

WPost: Montgomery parents want answers in middle school sex offense case

Parents at a Damascus middle school angrily pressed Montgomery school officials this week about why they were not told for almost a month about the arrest of a contract worker charged with groping a 12-year-old student in a hallway.
Letters have now been sent to families at 58 other Montgomery County public schools to ask that they report any potential inappropriate contact that the arrested worker, John E. Epps Jr., might have had with students...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/montgomery-parents-want-answers-in-middle-school-sex-offense-case/2014/11/07/39920ed4-638f-11e4-9fdc-d43b053ecb4d_story.html

NBC 4: Weeks Pass Before Parents Alerted of Montgomery Co. School Sex Assault

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/montgomery-county-roberto-clemente-middle-school-jose-pineda-281996161.html

WTOP: After principal's apology, a push to keep parents informed

WASHINGTON -- Montgomery County school officials are reviewing their parental notification procedures after conceding that a mistake was made at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown.
The school's principal, Khadija Barkley, sent a letter home to parents on Friday, informing them that a substitute teacher was accused of having inappropriate contact with a student September 30. The principal apologized for not telling parents sooner.
The letter comes a week after parents of students at Baker Middle School in Damascus learned that police were investigating the alleged groping of a Baker student October 6 by a contract employee working at the school.

Read more: http://www.wtop.com/41/3738799/After-principals-apology-a-push-to-keep-parents-informed#ixzz3IcP7Vw8m

Breaking News: Arrest of Clemente Middle School Substitute Teacher

Date: November 7, 2014 at 5:00:57 PM EST
Subject: Roberto Clemente Middle School Community letter

A message from ROBERTO CLEMENTE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Good Evening Clemente Middle School Families,

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with information regarding an incident at Roberto Clemente Middle School that occurred on September 30, 2014. The incident involved Mr. Jose Pineda, a substitute teacher, who was accused of making inappropriate contact with one of our students. Through subsequent collaboration and communication with Montgomery County Department of Police, we have learned that the substitute teacher was arrested October 14, 2014 on charges related to this incident. I want to apologize for not sending a letter to the community earlier, but I want to assure you that Roberto Clemente Middle School took swift action in collaboration with the Montgomery County Police and the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Department of School Safety and Security to investigate the incident. As soon as the allegation was raised, the teacher was subsequently removed from the classroom and has not worked in any other MCPS school since.

At the time of the incident, in consultation with the police, security personnel, and the MCPS Office of School Support and Improvement, I made the decision to not send a letter to the community while the investigation was ongoing. As the principal, the safety and security of all students and staff is my responsibility and I am confident we acted swiftly to ensure this incident was investigated and our students supported. However, it also important that I communicate with you in a timely manner about such incidents. Once we were informed that an arrest had been made, I should have notified you and I apologize again for not sharing this information with you sooner.

If you have further questions, please contact me or any member of the administrative team at Roberto Clemente Middle School. We would be pleased to answer your questions and discuss this issue with you further. Thank you for your continued support of our efforts to maintain a safe and secure learning environment for our children.

Sincerely yours,
Khadija Barkley,
Principal

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What the Clemente Middle School administration didn't relay in this evenings announcement, the charges as filed.

Charge No: 001Description:SEX ABUSE MINOR

Statute: CR.3.602.(b)(1)Description:SEX ABUSE MINOR

Amended Date: CJIS Code:1 0322MO/PLL:Probable Cause:X

Incident Date From: 09/30/2014 To: 10/01/2014 Victim Age:

Charge No: 002Description:SEX OFFENSE THIRD DEGREE

Statute: CR.3.307Description:SEX OFFENSE THIRD DEGREE

Amended Date: CJIS Code:3 3600MO/PLL:Probable Cause:X

Incident Date From: 09/30/2014 To: 10/01/2014 Victim Age: