A former principal and paraeducator at Aberdeen Middle School in Harford County, Maryland, have been charged with failing to report a rape that a student told them about, WBAL-TV (NBC affiliate), The Baltimore Banner, and WBFF-TV (FOX affiliate) report.
STEM Night, Fallston M.S., Harford Co. (U.S. Army DEVCOM via Flickr Creative Commons)Under Maryland law—as well as the law in multiple states—educators are “mandated reporters,” a designation that gives them the responsibility of reporting any instances of harm or possible harm to a child they become aware of. “If you are a health care practitioner, educator, human service worker or a law enforcement officer, you are required by law to report both orally and in writing any suspected child abuse or neglect,” Maryland’s Department of Human Services writes on its website.
Mandated reporters need to report any suspected child abuse, even if they don’t have proof the abuse took place, according to state law. The investigation and formal charges are left up to law enforcement authorities and the courts, but an initial report, which can be anonymous, must be made as soon as possible.
In this case, Aberdeen Police were contacted by a local hospital about a rape involving an Aberdeen Middle School student that occurred on April 12. During an investigation, detectives learned that the former principal, Regina Jones, 44, and Tanya Johnson, 56, a paraeducator, knew about the rape on April 13 because the 13-year-old victim had confided in school officials.
A 17-year-old has been charged with the rape. But delays may have resulted in the loss of important physical evidence or made it much more difficult for police to collect evidence that might link the rapist with the crime. “This illustrates the consequences and what can happen when you don’t fulfill your obligation to do that, and it just highlights the seriousness of it,” Aberdeen Police Capt Will Reiber told WBAL-TV.
