Maryland Teacher Accused of Sex Abuse Found 'Not Guilty,' Urging Parents To Plan Protests

Parents from Maryland are planning to stage protests in response to an elementary school teacher being found "not guilty" of child sex abuse.

The suspect was identified as 45-year-old Matthew Schlegel, who is a math teacher at Severna Park Elementary School. He was released on his own recognizance after authorities cleared him of 18 counts of abuse of students at the school where he taught.

Teacher Acquitted of Child Sex Abuse Charges

The development urged parents to make about 2,000 pink signs to show their support for the young students who testified against their teacher during the trial that spanned several weeks. Some of the signs read, "We stand with our girls" and "We believe them."

One parent, Hannah Warzoah, said, "They know that these are houses where they can feel safe. They know that they're believed and they're cared about." This was a reference to the five 10-year-old girls who faced hours of cross-examination while testifying against Schlegel, accusing him of inappropriately touching them in class, according to CBS News.

The elementary school math teacher was arrested in 2024 after being accused of sexually abusing eight students during class between 2022 and 2024, allegations that he has continuously denied.

A jury returned with a partial verdict on June 18, where Schlegel was found not guilty as jurors were not able to agree on the three remaining charges. The children's parents left the courtroom after hearing the partial verdict, devastated.

Now, the Severna Park Elementary School students who accused the teacher, their families, and advocates, must cope with the denial of the justice they sought. This includes the skepticism raised by a high-profile acquittal, The Baltimore Banner reported.

Cases of Teacher Misconduct

The development comes as the public does not fully understand the process of investigating teacher conduct. Individual allegations and internal outcomes are not information that is made available to everyone, which is done to avoid tarring someone unfairly, especially when it involves teachers and students.

The public typically learns about these things through headlines and mugshots, and there is evidence that suggests abuse charges against teachers are rising. It remains unclear what is actually causing that increase, but some have attributed it to a result of modern Americans spending more of their time online.

Defense attorney Patrick Seidel said that the partial verdict of the jury was a "little bit surreal," adding that they have been working on the case for more than a year now. He said that they believe that the elementary school teacher is innocent of the crimes he is accused of, as per Patch.