LEONARDTOWN, Md. – State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced today that following a two-day bench trial, Davon Stewart, 22, was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor. The sexual abuse of a minor, who was enrolled as a student, occurred while Mr. Stewart was employed by the St. Mary’s County Public Schools as a Safety and Security Assistant at Chopticon High School.
“The remarkable courage and bravery of this young survivor throughout the investigation and trial means that Mr. Stewart will finally be held accountable for his actions,” said State’s Attorney Sterling. “Schools should be a safe space for our children, without anxiety or fear of abuse. Mr. Stewart’s use of his position to exploit a minor child and violate that safe space is especially heinous. I’m hopeful that the conviction in this case will allow the victim and the victim’s family the ability to begin healing from his actions and deliver a sense of justice.”
Mr. Stewart faces a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison and will be required to register as a Tier III sexual offender for life.
He will remain held without bond pending a sentencing hearing.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Proctor, Chief of the Special Victims Unit, prosecuted the case on behalf of the citizens of St. Mary’s County.
Detective Tyler Payne of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office was the lead investigator.
The Honorable Joseph M. Stanalonis presided over the case.
No wonder that homeschooling has skyrocketed. Between increasing reports like this nationwide and the agendas being pushed on kids these days in public schools it is just sad. School choice needs to be the future. Give parents back their tax dollars to educate their children properly. As enrollment in public schools drops they will need to step up their game to stay relevant. COVID shut downs were an awakening to many of us parents. Virtual schooling showed us a glimpse of what was being taught and we quickly learned we needed to do better for our children’s sake. Teach academic skills, not ideology and by all means keep predators off of school staff. Marylanders have been advocates for big education budgets for decades. We deserve better, much better.
Must be one of those “I don’t believe in homework” kind of parents…
Let’s send them to church.. because there’s no abuse there either.. RIGHT?
That would depend on the church. Bottom line is that schools should be teaching academics and not social ideologies. When they do that, they loose credibility with some segment of their community regardless of where you stand on these things. You cannot make everyone happy and choosing to teach my elementary school aged children that they were somehow racist and that they had options to be any of several genders is not what our tax dollars should be paying for, IMHO.
When it comes to predators, I agree, churches have them to, they are everywhere. My issue comes with the fact the the big budget our public schools have to ensure our kids safety seems to end up in administrator’s salaries and other other overhead costs. Almost $320 million budget for 17K students in St. Mary’s this year. They need to do better.
You do understand that virtual learning was thrown together at the last minute… unplanned… unvetted?? Apparently not. If using that as your guidance as to what children were being taught, then shame on you for not educating yourself. Virtual learning gave children a sense of belonging when that was taken away… a feeling of companionship when being told to stay away.
Predators are everywhere… in the government, in the churches, in your neighborhoods, and in the homeschooling programs you so highly praise. And in schools, public and private. Have you noticed that a lot of issues lately concerning predators and children have been women??
We do deserve better. The fact we shut down everything during COVID was crazy, but it happened. What would you have suggested when we immediately shut everything down?
Agreed, they did the best they could with throwing it together. My point is that many of us parents were disheartened by what we observed being taught to our children through the screen. Bottom line is that schools should be teaching academics and not social ideologies. When they do that, they loose credibility with some segment of their community regardless of where you stand on these things. You cannot make everyone happy and choosing to teach my elementary school aged children that they were somehow racist and that they had options to be any of several genders is not what our tax dollars should be paying for, IMHO.
When it comes to predators, I agree, they are everywhere. My issue comes with the fact the the big budget our public schools have to ensure our kids safety seems to end up in administrator’s salaries and other other overhead costs. Almost $320 million budget for 17K students in St. Mary’s this year. They need to do better. My children will stay homeschooled till things change and are thriving with it. Our local homeschooling co-op has increased enrollment the last 3 years and has over 300 students this year.
I agree! Post covid the public schools have fully become daycares with no education.
Well, this kind of stuff has always happened. If not in school, then in church (not just the Catholic ones). The difference today is that kids are more connected and likely to speak out then internalize the abuse like they might have done in the past.
Homeschooling is an option, but tends to produce kids who are not ready for the world because they have been sheltered. Or they teach Nazi Ideology….really (https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/what-to-know-about-a-neo-nazi-home-school-scandal/2023/02). And homeschooling is not very well regulated or monitored in many states. These kids will have a rude awakening when they have to venture out into the modern working world.
Providing alternate funding to send your kids to private and/or religiously-affiliated schools doesn’t solve the problem either, as abuse happens there too.