Maryland school aide faces additional charges in child porn case
WASHINGTON -- A volunteer school aide accused of sexually abusing students at a suburban Washington elementary school has now been indicted and faces additional charges.
Twenty-two-year-old Deonte Carraway was charged last week with eight counts of producing child pornography. A grand jury indicted him Monday on 13 counts, involving 11 victims ranging in age from 9 to 12.
CBS Baltimore reports that, according to the indictment, Carraway coerced and persuaded children to engage in sexual explicit conduct in order to produce video from Oct. 11 , 2015 to Feb. 1, 2016.
He met the victims at the school where he worked and recruited others from his choir group.
If convicted, Carraway could spend the rest of his life in prison. Each count carries a minimum 15-year sentence. He is also facing charges in state court. His attorney has declined to comment.
Parents of some of the children have alleged in lawsuits that Carraway was given unrestricted access to students at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School in Glenarden, Maryland. The lawsuits say the principal was warned about Carraway's conduct but didn't inform authorities.
The guardian of a 9-year-old Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School student is suing Prince George's County Public Schools for the boy allegedly being sexually exploited by Carraway.
Charging documents allege Carraway directed children to perform sex acts, taping them with his cellphone in the school's restrooms and auditorium. Police said they have discovered 40 sex videos of children.
"I'm just confused on the school's reaction," Edward Minnis, who has two children at the school, told CBS affiliate WUSA. Minnis said parents should have been notified about this case sooner.
"We trust the teachers, we trust the staff with our child's lives and right now, I think that trust has been broke," another parent told the station.