ROCKVILLE, Md. — A year after the shocking broomstick sex assault on freshman football players at Damascus High School, a new report released Monday finds Montgomery County schools still have some work to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.
The quarter-million dollar review from an outside law firm recommends tighter supervision and more clear reporting procedures, but also found no evidence of widespread bullying, hazing or sexual assault.
School officials have admitted that no adults were supervising the locker room on October 31, 2018 when a group of 15-year-old football players sexually assaulted a group of freshmen teammates with a broomstick.
Even after school administrators learned about the attack, the victims' parents say the school failed to report it to police for at least 12 hours.
The review by the law firm WilmerHale said coaches do not have to constantly monitor students after school, but they are legally required to exercise "reasonable care."
"I think the expectation has always been that locker rooms are regularly supervised," Derek Turner, MCPS spokesman, said. "I think this report gives us a little more weight and strength to tell people, 'This is what's going to happen, this is the expectation, and we will see you doing this, and you will be held accountable if you don't.'"
The investigators did not talk to either the victims or the perpetrators of the Damascus High School attack. Instead, the lawyers focused on four other Montgomery County high schools, and found overall a "positive culture" and "no evidence of widespread bullying, hazing, or sexual assault."
But they also found that sports teams and student groups perceived as "untouchable" are more likely to break the rules.
"There are groups or teams within the school system who have this perception, Tom DeGonia, a lawyer for one of the young victims, said. That they are "untouchable."
The review also encouraged coaches and sponsors to actively question students about hazing and bullying, and said the schools should offer them easier ways to report.
MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith said he's already taken some of the steps recommended in the report, including beefing up the planning process to make sure students are appropriately supervised after school, and launching a Student Athlete Leadership Council to help quash hazing and harassment.
Read the full report here.