MD Lawmakers introduce legislation to keep sex offenders from attending school in person

Baltimore (WBFF) — Less than two months remain in this year’s Maryland legislative session, and lawmakers are moving forward with legislation to keep juvenile sex offenders from attending public schools in person.

“This amendment is probably the most important part of this bill right now,” said Delegate Kathy Szeliga, a Republican representing Baltimore County, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing last Thursday. “It will close the juvenile sex offender loophole.”

For more than 10 hours, the committee heard testimony concerning Maryland’s Juvenile Justice system, a main topic during this year’s 90-day legislative session. Throughout the hearing, multiple pieces of Juvenile Justice legislation were debated. About eight hours into the hearing, Delegate Szeliga introduced an amendment...

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/lawmakers-introduce-legislation-to-keep-sex-offenders-from-attending-school-in-person#

☀️ @lukebroadwater · Maryland's Senate just unanimously passed a bill that bans student sex offenders from school campuses

Maryland's Senate just unanimously passed a bill that bans student sex offenders from school campuses https://t.co/cgJpRJvThF

— Luke Broadwater☀️ (@lukebroadwater) March 18, 2020

WBFF-TV Project Baltimore, the news station that broke the story, will host the public meeting. Town Hall on High School Sexual Offender Thursday

A wall of silence surrounding Baltimore County Public Schools and its decision to allow Santino E. Sudano, a 21-year-old convicted sexual offender, to attend classes at Parkville High School has led to a town hall meeting, created to hear public concern and answer questions.

But instead of being hosted by the school district, which has been mostly silent about its decision to allow Sudano to enroll despite his sexually violent history, it will be provided by the news agency that first broke the story.

“Project Baltimore has been reporting on the situation at Parkville High School for more than a month. In that time, Baltimore County’s current and former superintendent, Parkville’s principal and other high level administrators have refused to interview with us,” said Project Baltimore Investigative Reporter Chris Papst.

“We believe the community deserves answers as to why a 21-year-old convicted sex offender was allowed to attend Parkville. This town hall will be an opportunity for the community to voice their concerns, ask questions and hear directly from their elected leaders. We’ve asked Baltimore County Superintendent Dr. Darryl Williams to join the conversation. He declined our invitation. We hope he changes his mind. The community wants to hear from him,” Papst said.

WBFF-TV Project Baltimore reports that, after being told by a county schools’ spokesperson that “a whole bunch of different people” made the decision to allow Sudano special permission to attend the high school despite being a registered sex offender, the station and the community still do not know what led to the decision – not only to allow Sudano to sit among other unknowing students, but that parents were not informed that their teenagers were attending school with a convicted rapist...

http://gunpowdergazette.com/2020/02/22/town-hall-on-parkville-high-school-sexual-offender-scheduled-for-thursday/?fbclid=IwAR02vj6FlDbRA2HNySgluoOIAY3pyUeqLoCk7LdBTtnfp3f8AKQkVUGr7NA

BCPS Spokesman: "Whole bunch of different people" supported sex offender at Parkville High

MCPS Board of Education Looks to Lower Requirements for Substitute Teachers #Unlicensed #expungement #sexoffenders #backdoor

...The school system’s policy for hiring substitutes, policy GEF, requires an applicant to have at least a bachelor’s degree or certification, and people applying to substitute in vocational programs can be considered without a college degree, but must have at least two years of experience in a related area.

School board members said they hope applicants with associate’s degrees or students at Montgomery College who need student teaching experience to graduate will be allowed to substitute. The only statewide requirement for becoming a substitute teacher in Maryland is a high school diploma.

“The Montgomery Board of Education is committed to being agile and innovative in finding solutions to evolving needs,” according to a resolution introduced by the school board this week.

Superintendent Jack Smith called the proposal a “great idea” and will present recommendations in July...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/montgomery-schools-looks-to-lower-requirements-for-substitute-teachers/

Over 2,300 suspected sex offenders arrested in nationwide operation

WASHINGTON — More than 2,300 suspected online child sex offenders were arrested during a three-month nationwide operation conducted by the Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The task forces identified 195 offenders who either produced child pornography or committed child sexual abuse, as well as 383 children who suffered recent, ongoing or historical sexual abuse or who were used in the production of child pornography, according to a DOJ statement.

The 61 ICAC task forces — located in all 50 states and comprising more than 4,500 federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies — led the operation known as “Broken Heart” during March, April, and May.

The task forces investigated more than 25,200 complaints of technology-facilitated crimes against children and delivered more than 3,700 presentations on internet safety to over 390,000 youth and adults.

“No child should ever have to endure sexual abuse,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “And yet, in recent years, certain forms of modern technology have facilitated the spread of child pornography and created greater incentives for its production.”..

https://wtop.com/national/2018/06/over-2300-suspected-sex-offenders-arrested-in-nationwide-operation/