Judge rules school teacher charged with sexual abuse of minors to remain held in jail

By Kate Amara

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    ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (WBAL) — A Severna Park Elementary School teacher will remain in jail until his trial, an Anne Arundel County judge ruled Tuesday afternoon.

Matthew Scott Banks Schlegel was charged on May 16 with 36 counts of sexual abuse and other charges. At his bail review hearing the next day, a judge ordered Schlegel to be held without bond based on concerns about the community’s safety.

The defense filed for Tuesday’s civil hearing, arguing the district court judge erred at the bail review when he didn’t consider “the least onerous option,” which would be to send Schlegel home to his wife and young sons in Severna Park or even on house arrest, offering his parents’ home in Rockville as an alternative.

The defense said Schlegel has no record, didn’t run when a civil lawsuit was filed against him in the case or when someone tossed an incendiary device on his front lawn.

On Tuesday, the judge said she must also consider the safety and mental health of the eight girls who told authorities their math teacher touched them inappropriately in his classroom during school over a two-year period.

The state said one girl told investigators: “I still want Mr. Schlegel to be my teacher. I just want him to stop touching me.”

The judge ordered Schlegel to remain held without bond at the Jennifer Road Detention Center, where he appeared via video for Tuesday’s hearing. His defense team claimed Schlegel is being improperly held.

The courtroom was packed with parents, friends and family members of the girls, many of whom cried and hugged after hearing the judge’s decision.

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