Child Sex Abuse at Church Alleged, Volunteer Charged: Police

TIMONIUM, MD — After a 4-year-old told her mother that a volunteer in the church nursery sexually abused her during a recent Sunday morning mass, a Cockeysville man — who was also employed by a local elementary school — is behind bars, according to police.

Terrence Shondry Smalls, 26, of the 10400 block of Rainbow Ridge Drive, has been charged with sex abuse of a minor, second-degree child abuse (custodian), second-degree assault and a second-degree sex offense.

The charges stem from an incident that allegedly occurred on Sunday, Nov. 27, at Church of the Nativity in the unit block of East Ridgely Road in Timonium, according to police.

While Smalls' professional and volunteer activities have included frequent contact with children, police said it appears that Church of the Nativity is the only location where the alleged inappropriate conduct occurred and that the 4-year-old was the only victim.

Smalls was an assistant at Pot Spring Elementary School, where police said he was previously a before-and-after care program employee from 2011 to 2014.

He has not been employed by the school system since Monday, Nov. 28, according to Baltimore County Public Schools spokesperson Mychael Dickerson.

"Once police notified us of the current allegations and charges, we took the appropriate personnel disciplinary action," Dickerson said.

School officials notified parents about the charges and the fact that Smalls was no longer working in Baltimore County Public Schools, according to Dickerson, who said all county, state and federal background checks were conducted when he was hired in 2011 as a temporary employee.

Smalls has a profile on www.Sitter.com advertising himself as a babysitter for children under 6; he volunteered with the Girl Scout troop that met at Epworth Church from 2011 to 2015; and he worked at The Little Gym of Hunt Valley from July to October 2016, according to officials.

Smalls was arrested Dec. 8 and was being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center, police said.

Anyone with information may contact the Baltimore County Police Department at 410-307-2020.

Photo of Terrence Shondry Smalls courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Department.