Anonymous wrote:From the football websites, it looks like he is a 9th grader. And 6’ 229 lbs.

Probably a 15yr old 9th grader at a 3rd grade reading level. Half these people who commit these stupid acts that even an 8yr old knows is wrong are actual real like half wits.

However charging a 15yr old as an adult for a crime that will effectively ruin their entire lives. This wont be a burglary charge. This is a sex crime and will severely limit their job opportunities. You charge these boys as adults and guess what will happen?? That ugly adult prison system we have will rip those boys to shreads and they will be in and out of that system for life. You people just don't how incredibly destructive these charges are on all of society. We are spectacularly dum in this country and always so confused why we have such high crime. Hmmm put a young man in a brutal prison for a few years and release him to society. Yea, that works well.

From the football websites, it looks like he is a 9th grader. And 6’ 229 lbs.

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Anonymous wrote:How were these kids zoned for Damascus? None of them lived there. 2 Clarksburg, 1-Germantown, and 1 Gaithersburg.

You can live in Clarksburg, Germantown, or Gaithersburg and be zoned for Damascus.

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/DamascusHS.pdf

I live in Clarksburg and we are zoned for Damascus.

One of the kids had behavioral issues at Clarksburg HS last year. He was transferred out of Clarksburg to Damascus but allowed to play football with the COSA.

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Anonymous wrote:How were these kids zoned for Damascus? None of them lived there. 2 Clarksburg, 1-Germantown, and 1 Gaithersburg.

At least 3 of the attackers were expelled from other high schools, that's why. One of them was even expelled for assault.

MCPS shut down Mark Twain school, which was for problem students, so now a student who commits an expulsion-worthy act simply gets transferred to the next school.

They still have Blair Ewing.

Then why didn't MCPS send the kid to Blair Ewing? They just pass the trash with students just like they do with employees till the police make an arrest. The rapes at Damascus would not have happened if the kid wasn't transferred from Clarksburg and given an athletic waiver.

Excellent question. MCPS needs to be held responsible. I think we need to come together and demand some answers.

Damascus parents should go to the BOE meeting and present public comments.

The decision to approve the athletic waiver rests on the shoulders of one person - the MCPS System-Wide Athletic Director: Jeffrey Sullivan. Seriously, it's a no brainer that someone who has done something so bad to get kicked out of his home school should not be eligible for sports in the transfer. You want to clean up the athletic program. Start with having minimum standards of conduct for who you let play school sports.

MCPS shouldn't even be transferring these kids. Did the Damascus administration know this kid's history when he was transferred and what was done to supervise him?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were these kids zoned for Damascus? None of them lived there. 2 Clarksburg, 1-Germantown, and 1 Gaithersburg.

You can live in Clarksburg, Germantown, or Gaithersburg and be zoned for Damascus.

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/DamascusHS.pdf

I live in Clarksburg and we are zoned for Damascus.

Also, when I was in high school I lived in Rockville (not North Bethesda) and was zoned for WJ (Bethesda). How is this difficult to understand?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were these kids zoned for Damascus? None of them lived there. 2 Clarksburg, 1-Germantown, and 1 Gaithersburg.

You can live in Clarksburg, Germantown, or Gaithersburg and be zoned for Damascus.

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/DamascusHS.pdf

I live in Clarksburg and we are zoned for Damascus.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were these kids zoned for Damascus? None of them lived there. 2 Clarksburg, 1-Germantown, and 1 Gaithersburg.

At least 3 of the attackers were expelled from other high schools, that's why. One of them was even expelled for assault.

MCPS shut down Mark Twain school, which was for problem students, so now a student who commits an expulsion-worthy act simply gets transferred to the next school.

They still have Blair Ewing.

Then why didn't MCPS send the kid to Blair Ewing? They just pass the trash with students just like they do with employees till the police make an arrest. The rapes at Damascus would not have happened if the kid wasn't transferred from Clarksburg and given an athletic waiver.

Excellent question. MCPS needs to be held responsible. I think we need to come together and demand some answers.

Sadly all the incumbents on the Board of Ed were just re-elected, even 79-year old Docca who likes to use the "r-word" in public discussions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were these kids zoned for Damascus? None of them lived there. 2 Clarksburg, 1-Germantown, and 1 Gaithersburg.

At least 3 of the attackers were expelled from other high schools, that's why. One of them was even expelled for assault.

MCPS shut down Mark Twain school, which was for problem students, so now a student who commits an expulsion-worthy act simply gets transferred to the next school.

They still have Blair Ewing.

Then why didn't MCPS send the kid to Blair Ewing? They just pass the trash with students just like they do with employees till the police make an arrest. The rapes at Damascus would not have happened if the kid wasn't transferred from Clarksburg and given an athletic waiver.

Excellent question. MCPS needs to be held responsible. I think we need to come together and demand some answers.

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Anonymous wrote:I do not hold with charging 15-year-olds as adults.

-parent of a 15-year-old

Not even when those 15 year olds gang rape their classmates in a locker room?

NP +1

It's not a bunch of kids sitting on a bridge and someone gets the dumb idea to drop a rock onto a road.

Gang rape is a very adult concept, premeditated, and it's a crime that they used all of their adult physical strength to commit. Zero sympathy here.

Don’t really care about your sympathy. The boys did not sit around planning what they perceived in their teen minds as a gang rape. They perceived it as a hazing ritual that was passed down as a traditional. Of course it is awful. But their lack of judgement is partly attributed to their age. This is not a situation where the courts should move the case out of where it naturally should be. Why the hell is there a juvenile court if a case like this is not in it?

My 10 year old boy knows that sticking a broom up someone's bottom is wrong. If your 15 year old considers it just a prank you have failed at parenting. Teaching your child about sex includes teaching them what rape is and what consent is. If you haven't done that, now's the time (actually several years ago was the time, but better late than never). Seriously, please talk to.your children about sex, consent, and rape before they enter high school!!!

+1

I am also fairly certain that my 11 year old knows that it is wrong to stick a broom up someone’s butt. That is a pretty violent act. More than just a stupid prank. A stupid prank would be scaring a teammate or shaving his head. Not rape.

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Anonymous wrote:I think it's more than just not being properly trained or being corrupt. The last principal I worked for was just incapable of taking any action about anything. He'd "weigh" something until we stopped asking about it. He didn't like confronting teachers who were texting off hours with students, he didn't like taking a stance about anything, and he just hoped everything would go away. I think he wasn't too bright, and afraid of battling anything out or making a mistake. I left because I felt uncomfortable working with some awful people who kept returning year after year. A stronger principal would have written them up enough times to put them on par, at least. Overall, the net effect is that kids pay a price.

What??? How did staff know the teacher was texting students in off hours? A parent or a student brought that piece of information forward to the principal and the teacher kept texting? Does that employee still work in MCPS?

I don't think he's still texting, but he's still teaching and coaching. It's possible someone spoke to him, because it was brought to admin's attention by a parent. Or possibly he stopped because the parent was directive with him herself.

MCPS makes me sick. Texting creates a black and white paper trail. Why would MCPS keep a teacher and a coach who was texting with a student?

How would MCPS know he actually had stopped? Wait for another parent to catch him?

If the principal changes, would the new principal even know he was caught before?

This sounds remarkably like something that happened at my school. The teacher was texting with the girl and friends with her on social media and was giving her hugs in the hallway. CPS was contacted by a couple of us but the teacher never was put on leave, so I guess they decided nothing was happening after talking with parents. I find that CPS is overwhelmed and often doesn't even write up a report unless something really extreme happens and you have evidence. Anyway, please know that there are teachers watching out for your kids (though most of my calls to CPS are about parents).

CPS screens out 90% of the calls they get about MCPS employees. That means the majority of calls do not get investigated. Many cases can fall through the cracks, especially when MCPS doesn't share everything that they know or they fail to report before they interview kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were these kids zoned for Damascus? None of them lived there. 2 Clarksburg, 1-Germantown, and 1 Gaithersburg.

At least 3 of the attackers were expelled from other high schools, that's why. One of them was even expelled for assault.

MCPS shut down Mark Twain school, which was for problem students, so now a student who commits an expulsion-worthy act simply gets transferred to the next school.

They still have Blair Ewing.

Then why didn't MCPS send the kid to Blair Ewing? They just pass the trash with students just like they do with employees till the police make an arrest. The rapes at Damascus would not have happened if the kid wasn't transferred from Clarksburg and given an athletic waiver.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's more than just not being properly trained or being corrupt. The last principal I worked for was just incapable of taking any action about anything. He'd "weigh" something until we stopped asking about it. He didn't like confronting teachers who were texting off hours with students, he didn't like taking a stance about anything, and he just hoped everything would go away. I think he wasn't too bright, and afraid of battling anything out or making a mistake. I left because I felt uncomfortable working with some awful people who kept returning year after year. A stronger principal would have written them up enough times to put them on par, at least. Overall, the net effect is that kids pay a price.

What??? How did staff know the teacher was texting students in off hours? A parent or a student brought that piece of information forward to the principal and the teacher kept texting? Does that employee still work in MCPS?

I don't think he's still texting, but he's still teaching and coaching. It's possible someone spoke to him, because it was brought to admin's attention by a parent. Or possibly he stopped because the parent was directive with him herself.

MCPS makes me sick. Texting creates a black and white paper trail. Why would MCPS keep a teacher and a coach who was texting with a student?

How would MCPS know he actually had stopped? Wait for another parent to catch him?

If the principal changes, would the new principal even know he was caught before?

This sounds remarkably like something that happened at my school. The teacher was texting with the girl and friends with her on social media and was giving her hugs in the hallway. CPS was contacted by a couple of us but the teacher never was put on leave, so I guess they decided nothing was happening after talking with parents. I find that CPS is overwhelmed and often doesn't even write up a report unless something really extreme happens and you have evidence. Anyway, please know that there are teachers watching out for your kids (though most of my calls to CPS are about parents).

A COSA is not denied if the school is under enrolled like Damascus.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How were these kids zoned for Damascus? None of them lived there. 2 Clarksburg, 1-Germantown, and 1 Gaithersburg.

At least 3 of the attackers were expelled from other high schools, that's why. One of them was even expelled for assault.

MCPS shut down Mark Twain school, which was for problem students, so now a student who commits an expulsion-worthy act simply gets transferred to the next school.

They still have Blair Ewing.

I don’t think juveniles should be housed in adult prisons.
But i am not comfortable with the idea of these kids being released into society at 21.
Hopefully the criminal justice experts in the dept of juvenile justice and state’s attorneys office will figure out, if they are convicted, how to weigh punishment, rehabilitation, education, and their safety during a substantial period of incarceration.