Update: Gaithersburg High is once again getting attention for the wrong reasons, 4 months after a massive brawl on a football field. Students have circulated concerning photos...

Gaithersburg High is once again getting attention for the wrong reasons, 4 months after a massive brawl on a football field.
As students return to class Tuesday at Richard Montgomery High, families are learning more about a disturbing incident that occurred Friday. @7NewsDC pic.twitter.com/oCPGT45I5H

— John Gonzalez (@John7News) January 17, 2023

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Thurs. Oct. 6th Meeting to Discuss Plan to Park 22 @mcps School Buses at Each of These High Schools: Magruder/Wootton/RM/Rockville/Gaithersburg/Watkins Mill

The Montgomery County/MCPS Plan to move part of the MCPS Shady Grove Bus Depot to Seven Locks Road only moves some of the school buses currently in the Shady Grove Bus Depot.  The rest of the school buses will be parked at 6 high schools.  The MCPS Shady Grove Bus Depot can't be removed from its current location without the use of the parking lots at these 6 high schools.  

The meeting shown below on October 6th will only discuss moving some of the Shady Grove Bus Depot school buses.  It's time for the Board of Education to discuss their plan to take over the parking lots of these 6 high schools and turn them into bus depots. 

 Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Tues. 8/23/22: Board of Ed to Delegate Authority to Park 33 Buses at Each High School - Magruder/Wootton/RM/Rockville/Gaithersburg/Watkins Mill (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

Exclusive: The Voices of the Victims of Sexual Abuse by MCPS Teachers, Coaches and Staff. The Michael Riley Sentencing.

"What he did to me was a betrayal of our school system, where children should be safe from predators."

Today the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD begins a series of posts that give the victims of sexual abuse by MCPS teachers, coaches and staff a voice.  

These courageous children and adults have spoken up in public courtrooms about the crimes committed against them while they were students in Montgomery County Public Schools.  Often the courtrooms are empty and these statements are not covered by the press.  No one from the Montgomery County Board of Education ever attends these sentencing hearings.  To date, no past or present Board of Education member has ever spoken up in support of these victims.  

We begin with the Victim Impact Statement presented at the sentencing of Michael John Riley.  Mr. Riley was sentenced on October 17, 2018.

********************************

In Regards to M. Riley – Rockville High School Statement read in court on 10/15/18

This past spring, the Michigan State University travesty with the gymnast girls inspired me to send a letter to Mike Riley’s employer.  His employer passed the letter to the police and I finally had the guts to press charges.

In the Fall of 1983, I was a happy Junior in high school and on the Homecoming court and had plenty of teenage boys that wanted to date me.  I went to Homecoming with a senior and all was good.

Then my basketball coach decided to court me.  After the first time he kissed me in Dec 1983, I would not date or like another boy in high school.

I was only 16 and he was 29.

I was a child and I was manipulated. We had a 15-month affair.

Mike Riley said that if I went to UMBC he would move close to me so that we could be a real couple. We talked about marriage. He wrote me love letters and gave me gifts. I was completely infatuated with him.

He had another girlfriend the entire time – one that he told me he had broken up with. I’ve come to realize that rarely did we meet and not have sexual relations. This sick man used me for his perverted pleasure.

When he said we couldn’t see each other any more, he quickly became engaged with another teacher at the school. I was devastated but I would not tell authorities because “I loved him”. When I told my Mom, she said we would brush it under the rug and not tell my Dad. During the Spring of my senior year in high school, I cried myself to sleep every night because of him. I remember my eyesight was terrible.

For the next couple of years, I suffered severely from the stress and depression caused by him.  There was a lot crying. During my freshman year at college, I would call him when drunk and sad. He would take my calls and continued to tell me he loved me – this was his ploy to keep me “loyal” to him.

From college, I sent a letter to his fiancé and told her what he did to me. She called off their engagement, but they still married.

For 30 years, this man has been walking around high schools as an Athletic Director. He was completely unscathed from what he did to me. I know about 3 other girls he assaulted at Rockville High. When I finally moved to the anger phase and contemplated pressing charges, I didn’t because he had little kids.

His arrest this past May was liberating to me. It validated the hurt and anger that I’ve carried with me over the years. What he did to me was a betrayal of our school system, where children should be safe from predators.  I was the victim of sexual abuse during a time when parents brushed it under a rug to prevent public embarrassment.

He haunted my dreams for 20+ years. The long-term impact on me was that no matter how well I did at anything in life, I constantly battled low self-esteem. I am a strong, smart, successful woman with a husband and 2 kids. But, needless to say, the hurt has been psychologically damaging to me throughout my life.  For example, until recently I would have episodes of intense anger and then debilitating hurt if someone lied to me or if I felt betrayed.

Beyond justice, I want Mike Riley’s sentencing to be an example to teachers and coaches to leave teenagers alone both physically and mentally.  It’s wrong, causes life altering damage, and illegal.

I also hope any girls who hear about this case will learn two things:  1) do not be afraid to press charges, and 2) no, he doesn’t love you – he’s only using you for sex.

Jail for ex-Montgomery Co. teacher who had sexual relationship with student in 1980s

WASHINGTON — A former Rockville High School teacher has pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl who was one of his students in the 1980s.

As part of an agreement with Montgomery County, Maryland, prosecutors, Michael John Riley, now 64, entered the plea to one count of sex abuse of a minor Monday in Montgomery County Court and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Ramon Korionoff, spokesman for State’s Attorney John McCarthy, said police began an investigation into Riley in April...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2018/10/jail-for-ex-montgomery-co-teacher-who-had-sexual-relationship-with-student-in-1980s/

Rockville HS New Bermuda Grass Football Field: "circulating rumors of leaky pipes and faulty equipment"

Joseph B. Good stadium has been a topic of discussion this school year, as athletes and coaches have transitioned from talking about what it will be like playing on the new Bermuda grass field to now speculating how many more games will be postponed due to flooding.

After the installation of the new field this summer, athletes and coaches expressed excitement and curiosity about what it would be like to play on the new field. However, after a deluge of recent rain, unforeseen drainage problems have delayed many teams’ early season home games.

Players struggled with traction early in the season as the integrity of the field was compromised during games.

“The first game was fun but it was so muddy and every time we would plant or cut, it would make a dirt patch,” said senior offensive lineman Jaylon Harry, who played on the new field during the football team’s first home game versus Bethesda-Chevy Chase (BCC).

The athletic department has rescheduled several games because of the field complications, including field hockey, soccer and football.

While there have been circulating rumors of leaky pipes and faulty equipment, athletic director Michael Hayes has been working to identify the exact problem and fix it soon...

https://rockvillerampage.com/12618/sports/poor-field-conditions-cause-cancellations/

Detectives Charge Former High School Teacher for Sex Offense #RockvilleHS #CharlesESmithJewishDay #sexualabuse

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department –  Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) have arrested and charged Michael John Riley, age 63, of the 200 block of Deer Run Drive in Walkersville, with sexual abuse offenses for his involvement in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student that occurred during the 1984 to 1985 academic school year at Rockville High School.  The sexual relationship occurred while Riley was employed as a teacher at Rockville High School located at 2100 Baltimore Road in Rockville.  Riley is currently a staff member at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School located at 1901 East Jefferson Street in Rockville.

On April 20, 2018, detectives began investigating the report that Riley had an ongoing and inappropriate sexual relationship with the victim during the 1984 to 1985 school year.  The victim stated to investigators that at that time, she was a student at Rockville High School and that she knew Riley from his employment at the school.  The victim further stated that on multiple occasions, Riley engaged in sexual intercourse with her in the school and during school hours.

On April 24, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Riley, charging him with child abuse by a custodian, school molestation on premises, and school molestation by staff.  This afternoon (May 1), Riley turned himself into detectives and was transported to the Central Processing Unit.  Bond information for Riley is not yet available.

Detectives are requesting that parents of students who attend the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, where Riley is currently a staff member, talk to their children about their interactions with him and contact SVID detectives at 240-773-5400 if they believe their child was victimized.

http://www.mymcpnews.com/2018/05/01/detectives-charge-former-high-school-teacher-for-sex-offense/

2015: Rockville HS Student Exposed that Water from fountains had lead amounts that surpassed the EPA action level

H20 or H2No? Rusty, Discolored Water Has Concerning Lead Levels

Xavier Rivera

February 12, 2015

Hundreds of students drink from school water fountains, unaware of the quality of the water that they are putting into their bodies – not knowing whether or not they are consuming is rusty, lead-filled water.

Samples were collected from 24 RHS water fountains at 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 26. Seven of them had a visibly yellow tint to them with floating solids in the water and settled solids at the bottom of the sample container. Samples were sent to Sheppard T. Powell Associates, LLC labs.

Water from fountains next to rooms 1020, 1039, 1101, and 2065 had lead amounts that surpassed the EPA action level of 0.015 ppm.

According to the World Health Organization, lead can damage the nervous and reproductive systems and the kidneys, and is especially unsafe for young children and pregnant women.

Jim Roenick, a water treatment contractor and chemist for Georgetown University, helped process and interpret the samples. He explained that the yellow tint usually comes from suspended metals in the water (iron, copper and/or other metals). “Whether it’s a copper pipe or a steel pipe, it’s going to corrode. So now, when you turn the water fountain on, you get those products in the water,” Roenick said...

https://rockvillerampage.com/5896/news/h2o-or-h2no-rusty-discolored-water-has-concerning-lead-levels/

Is The Freshman Dominating MD [Rockville] High School Basketball Actually 20 Years Old?

The Cinderella-est story of the schoolboy hoops season in the Washington, D.C. area came to an end over the weekend. It turns out the year’s most fantastical feel-good tale really was a fantasy after all.

The Rockville Rams, a Montgomery County, Md. public school squad that went2-22 last season, won its district this year. The Rams blew a second-half lead to Governor Thomas Johnson High on Saturday, losing out on a trip to the Final Four of the Maryland state championships...

https://deadspin.com/is-the-freshman-dominating-maryland-high-school-basketb-1823541187

Rape Charges to Be Dropped in Case Cited by White House as Immigration Issue

From the New York Times, May 5, 2017, reporter Matt Stevens. for the full story go here.

Prosecutors in Maryland said on Friday that they would drop rape charges against an undocumented immigrant and another high school student, adding a new twist to a case that the White House had held up as evidence of the need to be tough on illegal immigration.

And:

But on Friday, John J. McCarthy, state’s attorney for Montgomery County, said his office had concluded that “the facts of this case do not support the charges originally filed” against the two students, Henry E. Sanchez-Milian, 18, and Jose O. Montano, 17.

 And:

 

Though he said he would drop the rape charges against Mr. Sanchez-Milian, Mr. McCarthy said his office had filed a new child pornography charge against him, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Mr. McCarthy did not elaborate. A spokesman for his office said the charge was filed on Thursday.

At a news conference on Friday, lawyers for Mr. Montano said the state had also decided to file pornography-related charges against their client in juvenile court.

“It’s egregious that the state is doing this,” said Maria Mena, one of Mr. Montano’s lawyers. “The purpose of the pornography statute was to go after adult predators, not juveniles.”

And:

Andrew Jezic, a lawyer for Mr. Sanchez-Milian, said if his client is found guilty of what he called a “throwaway” pornography charge, “that’s nearly guaranteed to be fatal to his immigration case to keep him in the country.”

The authorities have not commented on Mr. Montano’s immigration status because he is a minor.

But David Wooten, one of Mr. Montano’s lawyers, said his client’s family members are United States citizens and confirmed that his client is in deportation proceedings.

“He came here on his own in order to be reunited with his family because he didn’t have any family back home left,” Mr. Wooten said.

According to Rockville attorney Rene Sandler, the teen accused of attacking her client has been charged. #RockvilleHS @mocoboe

...According to Rockville attorney Rene Sandler, the teen accused of attacking her client has been charged.
Sandler says additional charges may be filed against three other teens.
The assault happened ten days prior to a suspected rape at Rockville High School, but parents weren’t notified of it...

http://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/charges-filed-for-student-attack-following-investigation-on-crimes-inside-schools

FOX5: Stepfather claims the school refused to contact police.

...However, Charles Longcor, the girl's stepfather, said that it is not true. He said he went to the school that day and claims the school refused to contact police. He is also upset that an ambulance was not immediately called.
Longcor said his stepdaughter will not be returning to Rockville High School because she is terrified. She continues to receive threats on social media and a group drove by their house shouting threats as well. She continues to be treated for a head injury. The family has retained a lawyer to make sure that she can still graduate on time...



http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/245096223-story

Sentinel: More Rockville Violence

ROCKVILLE – Two recent altercations at Rockville High School, captured on video and then posted on Facebook have angered a local attorney representing the victim in one of the altercations.
Local attorney Rene Sandler said MCPS should have contacted parents at the school to inform them of a fight between two female students, and an attack involving two other female students that occurred March 6 and March 7.

The fight and attack occurred 10 days before police arrested two male students in connection with an alleged rape at the high school.
Sandler said her client was kicked in the head by someone she didn’t know and had never seen before. In the weeks since the attack, Sandler says the girl remains disoriented and that the kicks to the head have affected her vision...

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/newsx/local/item/5043-more-rockville-violence

MCPS superintendent declines to personally address safety concerns at Rockville High School #CraigRice #JackRSmith #HumanError

Councilmember Craig Rice and Superintendent Jack R. Smith shown in Fox5 video not responding to reporters question: 



http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/244890857-story

Breaking News: Lawyer: Girl, 17, beaten at Rockville High; community wasn’t notified

ROCKVILLE, Md. — A local attorney says school officials failed to inform Rockville High’s parent community of violent incidents weeks before an alleged brutal rape occurred at the school...


http://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2017/03/lawyer-girl-17-beaten-rockville-high-school-parents-not-notified/

MCPS Rockville High School: March 16, 2017 Serious Incident Information

 Press releases, statements and videos:


http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/incident-information/

ROCKVILLE HIGH PTSA MEETS FOLLOWING RAPE REPORT

The Rockville PTSA held a meeting on Tuesday night that included a presentation from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials about safety and security at Rockville High School.

The meeting comes five days after a student reported she was raped at the school during school hours.

Reporters were not allowed to attend the meeting at Rockville High School.

“It is not a public meeting,” wrote MCPS spokesperson Gboyinde Onijala in an email. “PTA leadership also has made it clear they do not want media there.”...

http://www.mymcmedia.org/rockville-high-ptsa-holds-meeting-following-rape-report/

Two Male Rockville High School Students Charged with Rape of Female High School Student

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) have arrested and charged two Rockville High School students, Jose O. Montano, age 17, of an unconfirmed address, and Henry E. Sanchez, age 18, of Bel Pre Road in the Aspen Hill area, with the rape of a juvenile female Rockville High School student.  The rape occurred at the school yesterday during school hours.  Montano has been charged as an adult in this crime.
On Thursday, March 16, school administrators notified Montgomery County Police that a juvenile female student reported to them that she had been sexually assaulted in a boy’s bathroom by two male students.  SVID detectives were notified of this report and began an investigation...


http://www.mymcpnews.com/2017/03/17/two-male-high-school-students-charged-with-rape-of-female-high-school-student/

http://www.wmal.com/2017/03/17/wjla-tvs-kevin-lewis-on-the-rape-of-a-14-year-old-girl-at-rockville-high-school/

Fighting breaks out after football game in Rockville; police called

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fighting-breaks-out-after-football-game-in-rockville-police-called/2015/09/18/b009020a-5e6d-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html

Crusoe Gongbay, New Mexico football player and Rockville native, arrested in connection with rape case | WJLA.com

Crusoe Gongbay, New Mexico football player and Rockville native, arrested in connection with rape case | WJLA.com

“The state is concerned this behavior took place on and off school grounds,”

Gazette:  Potomac man who teaches at Einstein High charged with sex abuse of a minor

Teacher and student allegedly exchanged inappropriate emails