Victims' Moms Upset As Teen On MD Sex Offender Registry Returns To School

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A teenager who is a two-time sex offender and on the non-public Juvenile Sex Offender Registry has been allowed to return to public school by a judge, drawing criticism from the mothers of the two young children in Harford and Baltimore counties who were sexually abused by the teen.

In 2023, the then 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to a second-degree rape charge involving a Harford County child who was 3 when the crime took place. The teen was put on probation and able to return to class at Patterson High School in Baltimore. Parents weren't notified that a sex offender was in their children's school due to state law protecting the identities of juveniles, WBFF reported. A few months later, that same teen pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree sex offense involving a then 3-year-old Baltimore County child. The two-time sex offender was placed on the non-public Juvenile Sex Offender Registry at that time, reported WBFF.

Although Maryland’s legislature passed a new state law banning students who appear on the Juvenile Sex Offender Registry from attending school in person, forcing the now 16-year-old to attend Baltimore City's virtual learning program, a judge has since ruled he can return to school for in-person learning, according to WBFF. Maryland State Senator Johnny Ray Salling, who helped craft the The Juvenile Reform Bill, told WBFF that the judge's ruling is "very irresponsible."

Read more at WBFF