WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- Prince George's County elementary school teacher Martin Rye Brown says he's sorry and he regrets the mistake he made, but it's not what it seems like it is.
Police arrested the Silver Spring man at the Red Roof Inn in Lanham Tuesday evening, charging him with prostitution and trafficking.
Brown explains the school year at Langley Park McCormick Elementary School in Hyattsville had just ended, "I just finished work, I was going to enjoy a room with cable....and good air-conditioning." He says he went online looking for a woman to hook up with, "I rented the hotel room and she turned out to be a prostitute which I had no idea."
That's when Prince George's County Police moved in. They say as part of a sting, a detective arranged to meet a woman at motel who agreed to have sex for money. Police say they found Brown's driver's license in that room, and found him down the hall. He admits this, "I left the room and it happened. Because I rented the room, there's a human trafficking charge." He adds, "I'm sorry and I regret the mistake but it's not what it seems like it is."
But Prince George's County Police sources say this was a case of prostitution and human trafficking. They say Brown and another man were using cell phones to "further criminal activity."
Brown says, "I made a mistake it's not at all what the police were making it seem to be." When asked if Brown knew the woman he says he was meeting to hook up with was engaged in prostitution, he replied, "I knew it could be but I'm naive. I wanted not to be." He also says he never gave the woman any money.
Prince George's County Public Schools issued this statement, "Prince George's County Public Schools is aware of the arrest of a Langley Park McCormick Elementary School teacher. We will cooperate fully with law enforcement in its investigation. PGCPS is not going to tolerate this kind of conduct. The district remains focused on our commitment to ensure a quality education in a safe environment for the children of PGCPS."
PGCPS also said Brown is now on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. They say he was hired in August of 2015 and that nothing came up on his background check.
Brown shared, "I love my job....I can't imagine life without it, again I made a mistake and things are being put on me that I didn't do and I can't imagine life not teaching."
Brown will be in court on July 29th to answer those charges.
