WASHINGTON — Prince George’s County police say they have no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing by an elementary school principal.
This week, Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO Kevin Maxwell startled reporters — and even members of his own school board — when he announced at a press briefing that a newly appointed principal at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School had been put on leave after the school received an anonymous allegation against the principal.
Maxwell told reporters that letters had been sent home to parents, but did not elaborate about the allegation.
Now, police say their inquiry — it never escalated to a full-blown investigation — turned up nothing.
“On Tuesday, we received information about an allegation against the principal,” Prince George’s County Lt. David Coleman said in a statement to WTOP. “Based on our initial review, and unless we receive additional information, there’s currently no evidence of criminal misconduct committed by the principal.”
Even though the police department cleared the principal of any wrongdoing, the school system must complete its internal investigation before the principal will be placed back on the job.
“We have a process that we follow administratively with all of our employees,” said Maxwell. “In the way our world works, there are criminal issues, there are civil issues and there are administrative issues.”
The principal currently remains on paid administrative leave.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.
