Third Howard County teacher to go to court in March for allegations of sexual contact with students
I’ve spent most of the week in court covering the trial of Joseph Samuel Ellis, a 25-year-old former Glenelg High School history teacher accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with several female students. Read more about the outcome of that case here.
Turns out this week has served as a primer for what’s coming up in March, when I will likely cover the trial of Alan Meade Beier.
Beier, for those of you who are not familiar with the case, is a former River Hill teacher accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with students.
All three cases against Beier will take place in Howard County Circuit Court on March 26. Originally one of the cases was scheduled for February 12, but a motion on December 20, 2007, postponed that case, which allowed all three cases to go to trial at the same time.
Beier, 52, a former chemistry and physics, was arrested on January 12, 2007. He is accused of undressing and photographing a 16-year-old boy in his classroom and with fondling a 17-year-old female student. A third student also reported inappropriate contact with Beier.
Beier is the third and final Howard County teacher arrested during a two-month period during the 2006-2007 school year to appear in Circuit Court for allegations of having inappropriate sexual contact with students.
Kirsten Ann Kinley, 28, a former teacher at Marriotts Ridge High School, pleaded guilty in August to having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy while she was a teacher at Hammond Middle School in late 2004 and early 2005. The boy was not a student at Hammond Middle. Kinley was sentenced to serve 18 months at the county detention center in November.
Do you think that there are enough safeguards in place to prevent situations like these? Do you think these incidents are isolated or do they represent a growing problem? Before you comment, check out some of these stories here, here, here, and here.
Categories: Around the Nation, Howard County, School Safety (Or Lack Thereof)
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Comments
I don't think the trend is just isolated to teacher-student relationships. By that I mean, in the middle school environment, compared to about 10 years ago, I am seeing more and more younger students becoming more aware of their sexuality at a younger age. As a teacher at a middle school within the area, I am seeing the effect of this. Students talk about oral sex, sleeping with other students, being abused by family members, and, believe it or not, I have some students that are in middle school and pregnant. So while I see the teacher-student relationship being a problem, rather than always looking at the adult, perhaps we should include a consideration of the children involved too and where they are mentally. And before anyone gets angry, I am not condoning this behavior nor am I saying that it was the student's fault more than the teacher's. I'm just interested on what may be leading to this type of behavior from all angles.
Posted by: Claudia | January 12, 2008 8:26 AM
From: geezinbox@hotmail.com
To: cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com
Subject: Re: Marriott's Ridge High School
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:57:16 +0000
Hello Ms. Peirce, my name is George G. Hruneni and I am a child abuse survivor. I was horrifically physically abused by my father of the same name from ages 3-13 in the 70's and 80's. He now works as an uncertified teachers assistant in the Special Education department at the school.
My abuse happened in Fairfax and Montgomery County's years ago so local authorities can't/won't touch it. School officials "investigated" which means they sent a letter to my mother, who witnessed abuse and abandoned me in the situation when I was 3, asking her to call the office. Well of course she did not respond and to date he still works at the school which is absolutely sickening.
I would describe him as sick and a monster, it was kill or be killed. This guy belongs around no ones children! It seems, given the history there, that a certain type of individual thinks they are off the radar there. As you can see I'm doing all I can to prevent that from happening. You would think that especially this school would go the extra mile to not have people around with these kinds of allegations but they are fine staying the course until the next tradgedy, sadly.
I posted part of your article on my website, georgehruneni.com, crediting you of course. Thank you for writing it helped my cause. Perhaps my info might assist you somehow. When I was 13 I stole his car and left for good, living on the streets of the metro area. What drove a child to this extreme now works in the school system! Unbelievable.
Sincerely, George G. Hruneni
Posted by: George G. Hruneni | July 21, 2009 7:46 PM