Waldorf, MD – The meeting with parents at Benjamin Stoddard Middle School in Waldorf Wednesday, Aug. 16 slowly degenerated from an informational meeting about Carlos Bell—the HIV-positive teacher’s assistant who is alleged to have sexually assaulted as many as 24 children while employed by Charles County Public Schools (CCPS)—into calls for the resignation of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kimberly Hill.
This, the second in a series of meetings scheduled to inform parents about the ongoing investigation, began poorly and went downhill from there.
At the first meeting, Hill and members of the Charles County Board of Education opted not to attend, with the intention of allowing the community to begin the healing process without interference from the board. That decision backfired miserably, as parents, angry that the superintendent was not there, began to insinuate that CCPS was covering something up. Hill began the meeting apologizing.
“A lot of you felt disrespected,” Hills said. “We got it wrong. We want you to tell us how you feel. Our job is to do a lot of listening.”
Hill said they first they became aware of Bell’s transgressions when a parent found what they considered an inappropriate text from Bell on their child’s cell phone in December of last year. Bell was pulled out of his duties while the allegation was being investigated by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. It wasn’t until June 30, when Maryland State Police forensics were able to decipher Bell’s personal computer and began finding disturbing photos and videos of his encounters with school children, that the extent of his transgressions began to surface. WTOP News has reported that at least one of the victims has tested positive for HIV.
For six months, Hill said, all the administration knew from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office was that there was an inappropriate text which they didn’t even know the contents of. Bell wasn’t charged with anything until Dec. 22 and still hasn’t been charged with sending the inappropriate text, which resounds trivially next to the 119 counts of sexual child abuse and other charges he faces.
The very first speaker, blew out of the gates with the retort, “The more I hear the madder I am.”
Another said a young girl who attended the first meeting alleged inappropriate behavior from Bell and filed a complaint back in October of 2016, but that nothing was done. Hill said she had no knowledge of such a complaint. The former principal of the school was recently replaced by Marvin Jones.
One speaker, whose godson was among the victims, said the school system was “more reactive than proactive. “We need to figure out the process of relocating him to another school,” the speaker said, “because my godson does not want to be in this building.”
“You fired the principal,” said another to the superintendent. “Why didn’t you resign? If leadership starts at the top, you should resign.”
“This happened on my watch,” Hill said. “I own that and I accept that. I’m taking action. I’m going to keep my job as long as the board of directors wants me.”
“This is either incompetence or a cover up,” a speaker asserted. “You said you’ll be here as long as the board wants you here?” He turned to the board members in attendance and said, “We don’t want her here. How no one could have known this was going on is unfathomable.”
But Catherine Myers, executive director of the Center for Children, said that’s just it. No one ever knows because the abusers are very good at hoodwinking not only children, but parents and staff as well.
“That’s what so scary,” she said. “They look just like you and me. I have evaluated many sex offenders and they are very good at what they do. They groom the children and the parents so if someone tried to tell, no one would believe them. Often when they do get arrested, it’s the first time.”
She said what makes such cases difficult is that the victims won’t reveal what has happened to them.
“Kids do not tell,” Myers explained. In this case, she pointed out, if an alert parent hadn’t been monitoring their child’s cell phone, the abuse might have gone on unreported indefinitely.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com