WASHINGTON — A Cloverly Elementary School substitute teacher was arrested Saturday on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, as well as a fourth-degree sexual offense for inappropriately touching a student in Montgomery County.
The incident occurred on March 8.
The student told his parent after school that the teacher had touched him “in a way that made him uncomfortable,” Montgomery County police said.
The parent notified school officials who then notified police.
The substitute teacher has been identified as Steven Katz, 59, of the 6500 block of Quiet Hours in Columbia, Maryland.
Police said they conducted Interviews with the student and Katz during the investigation. During his interview, Katz admitted to inappropriately touching the student .
Katz turned himself in to investigators on Saturday after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
In a letter to community members sent out on Saturday evening, Howard County Public Schools Interim Superintendent, Michael J. Martirano, said that Katz also was a substitute teacher in Howard County.
The school system is reviewing Katz’s work history with the county and is cooperating with Montgomery County police.
Before being hired as a substitute teacher, Katz underwent a criminal background check, fingerprinting and a reference check, said Martirano in the letter.
“We take safety of our students seriously and I am greatly chagrined that this individual was trusted to enter our classrooms and teach our children,” Martirano wrote. “I have directed our staff to review the process for evaluating substitutes and putting in place a system to more periodically conduct background checks.”
Katz worked at Howard High School twice and 13 times at Lime Kiln Middle School between 2017 and 2018. Both Howard County schools say in a statement that they will gather additional data beyond the two years and will update the community if there is additional information.
Police ask that the parents of Katz’s students talk to their children about any interactions with Katz that made them uncomfortable. If their child had a similar interaction, contact the Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5400.
WTOP’s Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.
