Broomstick Rape Case: 2nd Damascus Teen To Be Tried As Juvenile

ROCKVILLE, MD — A 15-year-old accused as an adult of raping fellow teammates on the Damascus High School football team will be tried in juvenile court, a judge ruled Friday.

Kristian Jamal Lee is the second of four teens to be transferred back to juvenile court. The high schoolers face multiple counts of rape and attempted rape.

Lee, Jean Claude Abedi, Caleb Thorpe, and Will Daniel Smith were accused of turning off the lights, pushing or pinning down four of their teammates, and raping them with a broomstick in a hazing ritual called "brooming." To date, two other suspects are still charged as adults: Thorpe and Abedi.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Steven Salant decided last week to transfer Smith's case to the juvenile court system, but said it was "incredibly painful" to hear about the offense and "even more painful" to read the victims' impact statements.

"No adult listening to that can just sit and ignore the terrible things that happened," he said.

The county's assistant prosecutor, Carlotta Woodward, previously testified that the victims are still grappling with what happened to them on Oct. 31. Some are in therapy as a result.

Charging documents said that before the junior varsity football team's last practice, the teens picked four freshman teammates to assault with a broomstick. All four of the victims are 14 years old, WTOP reports.

Smith's defense attorney — David Felsen — argued that while the offense is serious, the teen should be tried as a juvenile.

"This is as big a deal as it gets and we're not walking away from that," Felsen said.

The Montgomery County Department of Juvenile Services sided with Felsen's arguments in a report based on police documents and interviews with Smith and his mother.

According to Michael Bertol, a case management specialist with the agency, the department is responsible for analyzing Smith's case and recommending that he either be tried as an adult or a juvenile.

The department based its recommendation on five key factors: age, mental/physical condition, amenability to treatment, nature of the crime, and risk to public safety.

Based on Smith's age, risk to public safety, and amenability to treatment, the department concluded that his case should be handled in juvenile court. As for his mental and physical condition, and the nature of the offense, the department recommended that Smith's case be handled in circuit court.

Juvenile court provides more privacy for defendants, and the sentences are generally lighter, the station reports.