Protesters oppose not guilty verdict for Maryland teacher accused of sexual abuse
Protesters rallied outside of an Anne Arundel County courthouse Wednesday to oppose the not guilty verdict for a Maryland teacher who was accused of sexually abusing students.
Matthew Schlegel, a suspended teacher from Severna Park Elementary School, faced 18 counts of sexual abuse and sex offenses, though a jury was unable to agree on three of the charges.
Schlegel is scheduled to appear for a bail review hearing Wednesday afternoon. His attorneys said he will likely be released from custody during the hearing.
Ahead of the hearing, protesters gathered outside to advocate for child sex abuse survivors. Some held signs that read, "We believe them." Another read, "You failed our girls."
Parents react to partial verdict
The partial verdict came after a five-week trial, during which five young girls testified that Schlegel touched them inappropriately during classes.
Schlegel was removed from the school and arrested after the alleged abuse between 2022 and 2024.
After learning the verdict on Tuesday, the parents of some of the girls who testified expressed their disappointment.
"After the last one to two years of mental health struggles and picking my daughter back up and then putting her through hell, to sit there and face the man that (allegedly) abused her, I see her as the strongest little girl I've ever met," one mother said.
One of the parents testified that she found a note on her daughter's iPad, suggesting that Schlegel had been removed from the school due to inappropriate touching.
Schlegel denied the allegations against him when he testified during his trial, the Baltimore Banner reported.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
18 minutes ago
- CBS News
Detroit TV reporter Hank Winchester's home searched by authorities
I-96 flex route with new signals begin; police investigation in Monroe County; and more top stories I-96 flex route with new signals begin; police investigation in Monroe County; and more top stories I-96 flex route with new signals begin; police investigation in Monroe County; and more top stories The home of WDIV-TV reporter and anchor Hank Winchester was searched last week, authorities say. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office confirmed that deputies were at Winchester's home in Beverly Hills, Michigan, on June 13 to assist in a search warrant. The sheriff's office directed further questions to the Beverly Hills Police Department, which is leading the investigation. CBS News Detroit contacted Beverly Hills police for comment. WDIV vice president and general manager Bob Ellis issued a statement on Wednesday, saying, "We here at Local 4 have been made aware of an external investigation regarding Hank Winchester. As of this time, he has been placed on administrative leave. While the investigation is ongoing — we won't make any further comments." The Emmy Award-winning consumer investigative reporter joined the TV news station in 2001 and is known for his "Help Me Hank" segments, according to his bio on the station's website.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Eric Dane: My Countdown Task Force Leader Is ‘Unapologetic, Determined' — and Wears the Hell Out of a Suit
In Prime Video's upcoming Countdown thriller, Special Agent in Charge Nathan Blythe proves to be a 'formidable foe' for any ne'er-do-wells — and he looks damn good while doing it! Created by Derek Haas (EP of the #OneChicago franchise and co-creator of FBI: International), Countdown is set in motion when an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight. SAC Blythe (played by Euphoria's Eric Dane) is tapped to head up task force 'Hurricane,' comprised of LAPD detective Mark Meachum (Supernatural's Jensen Ackles), DEA badass Amber Oliveras (All Rise's Jessica Camacho), LAPD gangs unit officer Lucas Finau (Young Rock's Uli Latukefu), and FBI agents Keyonte Bell (The Boys' Elliot Knight) and Evan Shepherd (The Flash's Violett Beane). More from TVLine We Were Liars EPs Talk Book-to-Show Changes, Including Which Sinclair Family Member Didn't Make the Cut Does Jensen Ackles' Countdown Hero Have BDE - Big Dean (Winchester) Energy? 'There Are Familiar Aspects,' Says Supernatural Vet The Sandman's Final Season Trailer Features Dream's Return to Hell, Warns 'All Good Stories Come to an End' Though positioned as an 'all-star' team of LEOs, it soon becomes evident that the task force Blythe hand-picked is more a collection of broken toys. 'They don't understand why they work well together…,' Dane told TVLine on Tuesday afternoon, 'but I do.' Blythe himself isn't one to sit behind the desk in his makeshift task force office and simply receive updates. Rather, he involves himself in field work while also doing his damndest to keep District Attorney Grayson Valwell (Merrick McCartha) — an ambitious politico and would-be valor thief — from getting in the team's way. 'I like playing characters that are unapologetic, and determined, and won't back down. And there's a lot of that in Nathan Blythe,' Dane said. 'He's also a very earnest and focused character — I like that about him — but what I really dig about him is the 'stillness' which he sets an example' for the task force's more impulsive members. Ackles, who plays Team Hurricane's most reckless member, described Dane's character as 'a formidable foe for anybody out there trying to make a move,' and a boss who doesn't so much lead by example but 'lead by strength. 'And I love how much he believes in his team,' Ackles added. 'I love that he believes in these people even though they are not the obvious choice.' Describing Meachum et al as 'a ragtag group,' Ackles likened SAC Blythe to 'the coach of the Bad News Bears.' This coach, though, dresses a helluva lot better than Walter Matthau's Morris Buttermaker. When he strides across a tarmac or office plaza, damn, it's like an Armani ad come to life. '[Eric] wears the hell out of a suit!' Ackles declared of his co-star. 'Every time he showed up on the set, I'm like, 'Who makes this? What are you working with here?'' Accepting the compliments from both Ackles and myself, Dane simply said with a smile, 'We have a great wardrobe department.' Prime Video's Countdown premieres Wednesday, June 25, with its first three episodes, followed by weekly drops through Sept. 3. Want scoop on , or for any other TV show? Shoot an email to InsideLine@ and your question may be answered via Matt's Inside Line! Best of TVLine Yellowjackets' Tawny Cypress Talks Episode 4's Tai/Van Reunion: 'We're All Worried About Taissa' Vampire Diaries Turns 10: How Real-Life Plot Twists Shaped Everything From the Love Triangle to the Final Death Vampire Diaries' Biggest Twists Revisited (and Explained)
Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Government says Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought 'biological materials'
BOSTON (AP) — Attorneys argued over whether a Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought 'biological materials' into the U.S. in a court hearing Wednesday. Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist conducting cancer research for Harvard Medical School, appeared in Massachusetts federal court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing, where government and defense attorneys argued over whether she brought 'biological materials' into the U.S., ABC News reported. She was returning from a vacation from France in February when she was questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Boston Logan International Airport. Petrova, 30, had stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research. Federal officials on the social media website X accused her of lying about 'carrying substances' into the country and alleged that she planned to smuggle the embryos through customs without declaring them. She told The Associated Press in an interview in April that she did not realize the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. Petrova was told her visa was being canceled and detained by immigration officials in Vermont after her initial arrest. She filed a petition seeking her release and was briefly sent to an ICE facility in Louisiana, after which a judge ruled the immigration officers' actions were unlawful. In May, she was charged with one count of smuggling. The Homeland Security Investigations agent who wrote the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Brian Goldsworthy, testified Wednesday that Petrova would not have been able to leave the airport had she declared the frog embryos in her luggage, ABC News reported. He said that Customs and Border Protection agriculture experts and a federal laboratory that reviewed the samples deemed them to be biological material, ABC News reported. Petrova's attorney argued it was unclear what definition the government was operating under and the requirement to declare items entering the country doesn't hinge on whether something is a biological material, ABC News reported. After Wednesday's hearing, both sides will now have the opportunity to submit briefs to the judge. If convicted of the smuggling charge, Petrova faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
