Severna Park Teacher Sued In Sex Abuse Case For $1M

SEVERNA PARK, MD — An Anne Arundel County teacher acquitted of sex abuse charges is being sued by a mother claiming her daughter was molested by the educator.

The lawsuit seeks at least $975,000 in damages from Severna Park Elementary School teacher Matthew Schlegel, Severna Park Elementary Principal Kyle Butler and Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell.

"Plaintiff was sexually abused by her third-grade math teacher, Schlegel, during class, in plain view of other students," the suit says. "SPES staff or employees knew or should have known that such pervasive abuse was occurring. Defendants failed to protect Plaintiff despite having an obligation to do so."

Teacher Denies 'False Narratives'

Schlegel's attorney, Patrick Seidel, said "the mother of one of these children is seeking to profit from these false allegations."

"We have suspected for more than a year — and confirmed with the evidence presented in the criminal case — that every single family involved in this case consulted and/or retained civil attorneys, some within days of the initial allegations. What is curious, however, is that this particular family declined to participate in the criminal case, citing the 'best interest' of the child, and yet—unbeknownst to us — this lawsuit was docketed exactly one week after our vigorous cross-examination, concerning this very topic, was publicized," Seidel told Patch Thursday in an email, pointing to three of the girls who did not testify at Schlegel's trial.

Patch on Tuesday obtained a copy of the lawsuit, which was filed anonymously on May 30.

"Plaintiff will be forced to live with severe psychological trauma for the rest of her life as a result of Schlegel's conduct and Defendants' collective failures to protect her and other child victims," the suit says. "Plaintiff suffered and continues to suffer severe emotional distress, anguish, humiliation, embarrassment, fright, shock, depression and anxiety, all of which are permanent. Plaintiff has sustained and will continue to sustain economic damages including, but not limited to, expenses for medical and psychological treatment, therapy and counseling."

On June 17, a jury found Schlegel not guilty of 18 of the 21 charges against him. He had previously been accused of abusing eight of his female students.

The 45-year-old was released on his own recognizance on June 18 while the court decides how to handle the three counts of second-degree assault for which the jury hasn't reached a consensus.

"I believe it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the remaining charges of the criminal case while it is still technically a pending matter," said Seidel, an attorney for Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White in Baltimore. "I know the whole family was relieved to receive the jury's verdict last week. For more than a year, they have patiently waited for the opportunity to fully present a factually objective response to these allegations and to confront — in a court of law not the court of public opinion — the numerous inconsistencies and impossibilities contained in the false narratives of these children and their parents."

Lawsuit Alleges Fondling, Grooming

Anne Arundel County Public Schools, which had suspended Schelgel without pay after the accusations were made, resumed paying him once he was acquitted of the felony charges. The remaining assault charges are misdemeanors.

An AACPS spokesperson declined Patch's request for a statement, saying, "We don't comment on pending litigation."

"When Plaintiff, and other students, had questions during math class, Schlegel instructed them to sit beside him at his desk," the lawsuit says. "It was then that Schlegel criminally and tortiously sexually assaulted Plaintiff and other minor victims while concealing this abuse behind the cover of the desk. Schelegel would molest and sexually abuse Plaintiff in her genitalia and groin area."

The plaintiff says the abuse happened between August 2023 and March 2024. She was in third grade at Severna Park Elementary at the time, and she's now a fourth-grader at the school.

"Plaintiff became scared to go to school," the suit says. "Mother Doe recalled several instances where Plaintiff would cry during the mornings before attending SPES or Schlegel's class. Several times per week, Plaintiff would become overwhelmed and anxious about being in school and would miss class to rest (to effectively hide away) in the school nurse's office."

Schlegel has been an AACPS employee since 2008. He taught at Tyler Heights Elementary School in Annapolis before moving to Severna Park Elementary in 2016, where he taught until he was suspended in spring 2024.

The lawsuit states that the abuse allegations were reported to Principal Butler on March 15, 2024, and Schlegel was removed from classroom duties three days later. Schlegel was arrested on May 16, 2024.

"Plaintiff was forced to speak up when Defendants failed to protect her from her abuser," the suit says. "As a result of Schlegel's extensive and malicious assaults and sexual batteries, and AACPS's failure to ensure a safe learning environment for minor children, among other claims contained herein, Plaintiff has suffered severe psychological injuries and has been deprived of equal educational opportunities afforded to other similarly situated students at SPES."

The suit alleges that Schlegel exhibited grooming behaviors, including:

• "Rewarding his favorite female students with unusual amounts of attention."
• "Instructing female students, like Plaintiff, to sit next to him to answer class questions where he would eventually sexually assault them."
• "Rewarding certain students with 'Lunch Bunch' privileges, wherein a small number of students would have lunch with Schlegel and were allowed to watch movies in his classroom."

"Schlegel used his position as an SPES teacher to gain the trust of students and their families by actively participating in school events where Schlegel would socialize with the families of his students and give his students hugs," the lawsuit says. "Schlegel engaged in this grooming behavior to try and normalize physical contact between him and his minor students, including Plaintiff, such that they would be less likely to divulge the nature of the abuse."

Child Will 'Suffer From Severe Emotional Distress'

The lawsuit raises five counts against Schlegel:

• Battery
• Assault
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress
• Negligence
• Violation of Maryland State Constitution, Article VIII, §1

AACPS also faces five counts:

• Negligence
• Negligent hiring, supervision, and/or retention
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Violation of Maryland State Constitution, Article VIII, §1
• Respondeat Superior

Butler is up against two claims:

• Negligence
• Negligent hiring, supervision, and/or retention

One count was listed but not specifically attributed to a single defendant:

• Violation of Maryland State Constitution, Declaration of Rights, Article 24: Substantive due process (Bodily autonomy)

"As a long-term, and permanent, consequence of Schlegel's open and flagrant sexual abuse, Plaintiff continues to suffer from severe emotional distress, physical symptoms of emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, depression, anxiety, and will continue to require extensive medical and mental health treatment," the lawsuit says. "Plaintiff was deprived of her right to equal educational access, free from sexual discrimination and from sexual abuse which has impaired her long-term development."

The plaintiff is represented by Jeffrey P. Bowman and Lucas Van Deusen of Bowman Jarashow Law in Annapolis.

Related:

• Severna Park Teacher Found Not Guilty Of Sex Abuse, Schools Make Employment Decision
• Teacher Accused Of Sex Abuse Indicted On 55 Charges In Anne Arundel: Report
• Teacher Denied Bond In Severna Park Elementary Sex Abuse Case: Courts
• Severna Park Elementary Teacher Abused 8 Students: Charging Docs
• Teacher Removed From School, Misconduct Investigated In AACPS: Reports