ROCKVILLE, Md. — A judge ruled that a Silver Spring, Maryland teenager accused of raping a 19-year-old ex-girlfriend outside the Montgomery County Circuit Courthouse in Rockville could go back to classes, Bethesda Magazine reports. But WTOP has been told that won’t happen.
Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig says he can’t comment as federal privacy laws prevent that, but one school official did indicate the 16-year-old suspect, who gets special services at Churchill High, won’t be in classes in Montgomery County Public Schools.
Tofig did explain that when a student is ordered released while charges are pending, and if MCPS is required to provide education services, “We will do so in a way that proactively ensures the safety and security of all students.”
That can include providing a student with services off-campus.
The June 12 rape case is still under investigation. The victim in the case — a 19-year-old woman who was reportedly an ex-girlfriend of the accused — was being taken to a hospital after the assault when she died in the ambulance on the way. The cause of her death is still under investigation.
According to police and prosecutors, the attack was picked up on surveillance cameras outside the courthouse and security staffers alerted sheriff’s deputies, who took the teenager into custody. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 24 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
