Rape Charges Dropped In Maryland Case That Sparked Immigration Debate

(Updated 12:05 p.m. Friday) ROCKVILLE, MD — Charges will be dropped against the two teens charged with raping a 14-year-old girl during school hours March 16 at Rockville High School, Montgomery County Public Schools says. The case rocked the school system, Montgomery County and even drew condemnation from the White House after authorities learned the two teens arrested are from Central America and likely entered the country illegally.

While police and prosecutors have said for the past two months that the girl was dragged into a bathroom and raped during school hours, defense attorneys said the girl lied about the encounter, which was consensual, and that the girl and one of the teens had previously had a sexual relationship. Instead, the teens will face possession of pornography charges.

The boys arrested in the case are Jose Montano, 17, of an unconfirmed address and originally from El Salvador, and Henry Sanchez-Milian, 18, of the Aspen Hill area and originally from Guatemala.

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Smith said Friday morning that Sanchez-Milian will be charged with one count of possession of pornography and Montano will be referred to the juvenile court system. No other charges are being pursued.

WTOP reports that prosecutors said in court Friday that the facts do not support the charges against Montano, who had been charged as an adult. Montano will be released and referred to juvenile court to face child pornography charges.

"We have concluded that the facts in this case do not support the original charges filed in this matter," State's Attorney John McCarthy said at a news conference Friday morning. "Due to the lack of corroboration and substantial inconsistencies from the facts that we have obtained from multiple sources since the filing of the original charging document, the original charges cannot be sustained, and prosecution on those charges is untenable."

“While MCPS has no role in investigations, we always fully cooperate with the Montgomery County Police Department and the State’s Attorney’s office," Smith said in a statement. "We appreciate our colleagues for their extensive and thoughtful investigation into a matter that has significantly and adversely impacted our entire community.”

The boys allegedly decided Montano would convince the victim to have sex with him in a school bathroom. Sanchez-Milian would interrupt them and threaten to tell a teacher if Montano and the girl didn't let him join, prosecutors said in March when filing the rape charges.

But defense attorneys for Montano said the encounter between the girl and Montano was consensual and planned. They said the girl skipped gym class to have sex with him.

“It’s very clear that there were explicit text messages sent between the young lady and the 17-year-old defendant the night before, planning this type of encounter in the school the very morning that this happened,” Andrew Jezic, the attorney for Sanchez-Milian, said.

The alleged encounter began at about 9 a.m. Thursday, March 16, when the girl was walking in a school hallway and met Montano and Sanchez-Milian. According to police, Montano asked the victim to walk with him and Sanchez-Milian. Montano asked the victim to engage in sexual intercourse, she refused and was then forced to have sex, authorities had charged.

See Related:

• Rockville School Rape Report Prompts Safety Review: Superintendent
• Father Of Rockville High School Rape Suspect Arrested By ICE
• (Update) Rockville High School Rape Suspects In Country Illegally: Authorities
• Girl Raped In Rockville High School Boys' Bathroom: Police
• 2 Bomb Threats Made To Rockville High School In Wake Of Rape Case

Defense attorneys said Montano and the girl discussed a previous sexual encounter in text messages and shared sexual videos and photos. They said the girl lied to police when she suggested she didn't know Montano well and didn't tell police that she and Montano had sex before. The defense attorneys called it "impeachment by omission."

At a March 31 bond hearing a judge asked how Sanchez-Milian got involved in the situation; the defense attorneys said they couldn't explain his participation and they didn't know whether the girl also consented to sex with Sanchez-Milian.

“All three parties were willing participants to this encounter,” Jezic said. “There were no scratches, there were no bruises, there was no screaming.”

Jezic said the law states that a 14-year-old cannot give consent to sexual relations with someone who is four years older than them. Sanchez-Milian is three years and eight months older than the girl.

Prosecutors said they have the girl's text messages to Montano, as well as photos of Sanchez-Milian and Montano flashing MS-13 gang signs. Both attorneys denied that the boys were involved with the Central American street gang. The MS-13 gang has been tied to a series of murders in Montgomery County in the past year.

The Rockville case has gained national attention, with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer using it as an example of why President Trump is focusing on illegal immigration.

"I think part of the reason that the president has made illegal immigration and crackdown such a big deal is because of tragedies like this," Spicer said, according to NBC. "We act so many times when we talk about this and say why is the president dealing with this, because of this priority. Well, part of the reason is because of the tragedy that this young girl dealt with, had inflicted upon her, whatever the word is, but this is why he is passionate about this."

According to WTOP, both boys entered the country illegally in 2016 by crossing the border in Texas.

Rockville High School received two bomb threats in the wake of the assault and arrests. According to Montgomery County Police, a bomb threat was called in right before noon and another at around 1:30 p.m. on March 22. Schools spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala told Montgomery Community Media the callers threatened to bomb the high school and bring guns to the school to shoot illegal immigrants.

— Patch Editor Cameron Luttrell contributed to this story.

(AP Photo/Brian Witte)