MoCo Schools Keeping our Children Safe from Sexual Predators?

Is Montgomery County keeping our school children safe from sexual predators?

Chapter I Jose Pineda, Substitute Teacher, Josh Greenberg, School Janitor and Lawrence Joynes, Music Teacher & John Epps, Jr. MCPS contract security camera technician

From the Montgomery Village Patch Dec 4 2014 5:15 pm

Police Urge Victims, Witnesses of Teacher Sex Abuse to Come Forward

Two weeks after new sex abuse charges were filed against a former substitute teacher who had worked at 20 Montgomery County Public Schools since the fall of 2013, investigators held a press conference urging additional victims to contact police. The school system early in November notified parents that it continued to look into the employment record of Jose Pineda, 50, of Gaithersburg, the teacher who was arrested for inappropriate contact with a student at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown. Montgomery County Police charged Pineda on Oct. 17 with one count of third-degree sex offense. Since that arrest, three more victims have come forward with similar allegations.

On Nov. 21, detectives charged Pineda with three additional counts of third-degree sex offense and three counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Two of the victims were students at Ridgeview Middle School and one was a student at Forest Oak Middle School. Another nine female students have since reported that Pineda touched them during the school day.

The nine incidents all took place in 2014, with six of the contacts at Ridgeview Middle School and three incidents happening at Gaithersburg Middle School. A list of the schools where Pineda worked is included here. Pineda taught about 111 days between November of 2013 and September of 2014. Authorities say he taught a variety of grades at the elementary, middle, and high school levels and taught various subjects, including English, math, science, biology, computer science, technology, special education classes, and English for Speakers of Other Languages classes.

What is known about Jose Pineda?

At a press conference on December 4 2014, Montgomery County Police Spokesman Captain Paul Starks explained that Pineda’s work history with Montgomery County Public Schools goes back to the year 2000, when he was hired as a bus driver. Pineda worked as a bus driver from 2000 until 2003. From 2003 until 2006, and 111 days between November of 2013 and September of 2014 Pineda worked for MCPS as a substitute teacher.

A search of the Maryland Judiciary Case Results http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/ of Jose Pineda reveals over 500 case records including 105 criminal charges such as Attempted First Degree Murder, Assault and Reckless Endangerment on December 24 2013, Second Degree Arson on February 26 2013, two charges of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, two charges of Burglary, two charge of Prostitution, five charges of Theft, four charges of Urination on Public Property, five charges of Possession of an Illegal Substance, two charges of Disorderly Conduct, three charges of Possession of Alcohol in a Public Area, one charge of First Degree Assault, two charges of Malicious Destruction of Public Property one on March 23 2014 and seven charges of Trespassing. In addition, Jose Pineda’s public Maryland Circuit & District record lists 21 Family Domestic charges, 195 Traffic citations, 61 Liens filed, 27 Civil suits and four Domestic Violence charges issued from 23 different Maryland Circuit and District court jurisdictions.

Jose Pineda has spent a total of 391 days in jail; First-degree assault and possession of a dangerous weapon-72 days; Robbery and theft-71 days; Assault 37 days; Trespassing-44 days; Malicious destruction of property-4 days; Car theft-8 days; Fraud, Possession of false identification and false statements to an officer-36 days; Possession and sale of illegal substances on 1/14/2012, Second degree Arson on 9/18/2013 and First degree Burglary-40 days.

From the December 10 2014 edition of The Gazette

Old allegation against substitute teacher scrutinized after charges

In separate press conferences on December 4th spoke persons of the County school systems and police department reported on the latest allegations of against substitute teacher Jose Pineda of sexual abuse of a minor since the initial reported on the incidents on November 21st. County police spokesperson Captain Paul Starks acknowledged that although nine other students from two County schools reported Pineda touched them, none of the encounters were severe enough to merit additional charges”.

At the police news conference, Starks stated that although there may have been unnecessary delay of over a month between the times Pineda was originally charged in mid-October and when the School system notified the parents in each school in early November, the school system handled their investigation appropriately. “Once the allegations were made, the Montgomery County Department of Police hastaken the lead on the investigation.”

MCPS officials responded at a hastily called news conference of their own after the police conference. School superintendent Joshua Starr stated, “he has seen Montgomery schools and offices handle matters related to allegations and suspicions of child abuse “appropriately.”

“A vast majority of the time, we get it right,” Starr said. “However, recent incidents have caused me to believe that there is more that we can do to improve our processes and procedures.”

Starr said the system is taking steps to improve how staff monitor and report allegations of abuse. Stark stated on several occasions that the “health and welfare of our schools and the safety of the school children has been the number one priority in the 3½ years he has been school superintendant”.

“Detectives and investigators are trying to reconstruct the past several years of Pineda life and work history from 2006 to March 2013”. If County, State, MCPS, Employee Union restrictions, policies, regulations, procedures and protocols prohibits such, police can check Pineda’s County personnel and payroll records for addresses, search the Maryland Judiciary Case Results http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/ for Pineda’s 105 criminal case files from 23 Maryland’s District and Circuit court jurisdictions for his addresses, the exact location of his 195 traffic citations and the date and location of his 395 days spent in a Maryland jail.

From the November 26 2014 Edition of the Gazette

Former janitor given different job at MCPS after peeping Tom conviction

A man recently charged with sexually abusing his dog was allowed to continue working in the county school system after a conviction earlier this year of spying on students in a locker room.

His employment situation came to light in a recent WJLA-TV report, and has drawn fire from a county PTA official.

Josh Andrew Greenberg, 29, of Montgomery Village pleaded guilty to one count of visual surveillance with prurient intent in March. He was accused of watching female students change their clothes through a window into the girls’ locker room of Herbert Hoover Middle School in Rockville in November 2013 where Greenberg was a janitor at the time.

On Oct. 28 2014, Greenberg’s probation officer reported to police that Greenberg failed a polygraph test required as part of his therapy. Greenberg reportedly told the polygraph administrator that he had molested his dog multiple times since July, according to charging documents. Greenberg was charged November 13 2014 with one count of perverted sexual practice, a misdemeanor, in connection with the abuse of the dog.

“As soon as the incident at Hoover Middle School was reported last year, the police were contacted, the employee was removed from the school, placed on administrative leave and he has not served in a school since,” the statement said. “As a building maintenance worker in a bus depot, an employee would have no contact with students in any way.”

“The outcome of an investigation can be impacted by a variety of factors and circumstances that, while not appropriate to share publicly, need to be taken into account,” the statement said. But one parent said Greenberg’s continued employment with the school system is troubling.

Susan Burkinshaw, health and safety committee

Co-chairwoman of the Montgomery County Council of PTA said she thinks Greenberg cannot be trusted given his past offense and behavior. She questioned why the school system would keep Greenberg as an employee.

“How dysfunctional is our system for letting that happen?” she asked. She said she’s concerned that Greenberg, after being moved to the bus depot, would still have had a school system ID and potentially have been able to enter a school.

The decision to keep Greenberg, she said, points to the system’s need to hire outside experts to help handle cases of inappropriate behavior by staff.

From the February 27 2014 Edition of the Washington Post

Ex-Montgomery music teacher indicted on 39 counts of sexual abuse including rape

A former Montgomery County music teacher was indicted on 39 criminal counts related to his alleged sexual abuse of 14 elementary school girls and rape of a middle school student during his lengthy career in the county’s public school system.

Lawrence W. Joynes, 55, faces the possibility of decades in prison if convicted of all the charges, which include sexual abuse of a minor, child abuse, second-degree rape and other offenses related to sexual conduct. Joynes has been in jail since his arrest a year ago in Baltimore County for possession of child pornography. He was recently sentenced for that offense — to time already served, or about a year — and was transferred to Montgomery for prosecution on the abuse allegations. He is being held without bond. These indictments roughly doubled the number of charges against Joynes since he was first accused of abuses in Montgomery in August.

Joynes worked the last 10 years of his 27-year career at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, where police say most of the 14 children he allegedly abused were in kindergarten to second grade. The alleged offenses date from 2005 to last year where he taught at the school until his arrest. Thursday’s indictment roughly doubled the number of charges against Joynes since he was first accused of abuses in Montgomery in August.

The teacher worked the last 10 years of his 27-year career at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, where police say most of the 14 children he allegedly abused were in kindergarten to second grade. The alleged offenses date from 2005 to last year, and he taught at the school until his arrest.

Joynes was originally charged with a count of sexual abuse of a minor for each elementary school child. The indictment also includes individual counts of permitting a minor to engage in a representation of sexual conduct. Court papers allege that Joynes posed the girls in sexually suggestive ways, having them suck on his finger or a peppermint stick, while he recorded and photographed them. A number of the backgrounds appeared to be of a classroom, the papers say. Police alleged that Joynes captioned some of the students’ images with fantasies of molestation, and they said in court papers that Joynes got a tattoo on his shoulder bearing the name of one of the victims.

In late 2011, Joynes, while still teaching, was instructed not to touch children, be alone with them or sit with them in the cafeteria, according to court papers. But the documents indicate that one kindergartner’s alleged abuse happened while Joynes was on restriction. Investigators say that Joynes had the confidence of many students and parents and some members of the administration. That worked to his advantage at New Hampshire Estates,” said Capt. Bob Carter, commander of the Montgomery County police department’s family crimes unit. Carter said that Joynes used his artistic talents to take advantage of his students: “He used music to open the hearts and minds of these children.”

Joyner’s alleged crimes began long before his years at New Hampshire Estates, court papers say. A grand jury in Montgomery County returned second-degree rape, sex-offense and child-abuse indictments in connection with his time teaching at Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring in the early 1990s. Joynes allegedly earned a student’s trust and increasingly pressured her into sexual activities, a number of them while they were inside the school. At least once, he allegedly videotaped himself sexually abusing the girl, according to police. Thursday’s indictment increases to 10 the number of criminal counts Joynes faces in the former middle school student’s case, including separate episodes of sexual misconduct.

Montgomery schools officials issued a statement Thursday (Feb 28 2014) calling the allegations “very disturbing” and saying that they have cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so.

MCPS contract security camera technician arrested on child sexual misconduct

Alleged Middle School “butt grabber” worked at 58 MCPS schools

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According to channel 7 ABC News, on Oct. 6 2014, a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in a hallway at John T. Baker Middle School in Damascus. John Epps Jr., a contracted security camera technician employed by Rockville based Netcom Technologies, Inc, was strolling in the opposite direction when police say he grabbed the girl’s left buttocks. “He just stuck his hand out and he touched my butt. I turned around and he was already up the stairwell,” the student recalled. A male teacher observed the incident and notified school security. Ironically, police say, the camera guru was captured on video, going in for the grab, by the very security cameras he was hired to maintain. Epps was arrest the following day.

However, the Baker Middle School Principal opted to stay silent—no letter home to parents, no mass e-mail—nothing. Parents say they only learned of the reported sexual assault by reading the police blotter in The Gazette newspaper, nearly one month later. “I’m very, very upset,” said the girl’s mother. “They should have sent letters to all the kids in the school, their parents, [telling] them to ask their kids if something of that sort happened [to them, too].” As reported by channel 7 ABC News, Baker MS Principal explained “I apologize for the lack of communication when the investigation first began. I am committed to providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for our staff and students.” On Nov 2 2014 Montgomery County Public Schools released a list of 58 schools it says 44-year-old John Epps Jr, worked in over the previous six months

The damage control dance ABC 7 News broke the story Saturday (December 6 2014) afternoon. On Monday (Dec 8 2014) Baker Middle School parents received letters detailing the troubling incident. Staff members also held a parent coffee meeting on Wednesday morning. Roughly 75 parents attended the half-hour get-together in the school’s media center. “This is absolutely unacceptable. You don’t decide what’s best for our children, we do,” one mother shouted at a throng of MCPS staffers in attendance. “This isn’t the first time MCPS has tried to cover something like this up. I don’t believe anything will change moving forward,” a second mother remarked. MCPS, which routinely labels any alleged sexual assault “an isolated incident,” was exposed when a 17-year-old Damascus High School student contacted police to report Epps Jr. inappropriately touched her, too. The teen only came forward after ABC 7 reported on Epps’ arrest. Police are expected to file additional charges against the camera technician.

Jennifer Alvaro, a Bethesda mother and certified social worker, has been lobbying to improve MCPS’ response to alleged sexual assaults at the hands of school staff members and contracted employees like Epps. She contends the situation at Baker Middle School is merely the latest instance of MCPS sweeping a sexual assault under the rug. “They only try to protect themselves, and clearly that’s the case here,” Alvaro remarked. “I’m completely bewildered as to why, in this day and age, they haven’t chosen to change that mentality.”

According to on-line criminal databases Epps Jr. has been charged on two sexual related offenses. In October 2010 Epps was charged with two count of sexual assault in Anne Arundel County Maryland and in 2013 in Pennsylvania. ABC 7 News is working to obtain the arrest reports in Epps’ 2013 criminal case.

Epps hired a Silver Spring defense attorney and ultimately pleaded guilty to a single count of Second-Degree Assault. A judge placed the husband and father of two on probation, and fined him $500. By pleading guilty to a lesser charge, a misdemeanor, he avoided having to enroll in the Maryland Sex Offender Registry.

During a brief phone call, Epps’ defense attorney would only tell ABC 7 News, “No comment.” Epps Jr was due in Montgomery County District Court for a status hearing on Nov. 21 2014 at 8:30 a.m.

Montgomery County school officials called the allegations “very disturbing” and saying that they have cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so.

Stay posted to the Montgomery County Observer Chapter II of Montgomery County Public Schools Educating our Children in a Safe and Secure Environment –A broken System.