A week after an alleged rape that happened at Rockville High School, Montgomery County Public Schools sent out an e-mail denouncing the incident and sending support to the victim and her family.
The incident happened last Thursday. Authorities accused fellow students of the 14-year-old girl, Jose O. Montano, 17 and Henry E. Sanchez- Milian, 18 of committing the crime.
The following e-mail was sent out to the Montgomery County Public Schools community Thursday morning:
Dear MCPS Community:
As you may have heard or read, a serious incident occurred at Rockville High School on March 16, 2017. While I can’t share many details because it is an ongoing police investigation, I can share that the incident involves allegations of rape and the arrest of two students.
The allegations presented in the charging documents are horrible and unacceptable. They do not represent the positive values of our students and school communities. Our thoughts are with the student who reported the incident and her family. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is committed to supporting them through these difficult times.
Please know that our school staff immediately contacted the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) once they were informed about the alleged sexual assault. MCPS continues to fully cooperate with MCPD and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office on this matter.
While I know this tragic incident has become part of a national political debate, I want to remind community members that the lives of real students have been forever affected. While many have chosen to engage civilly in the conversation, far too many have crossed the line with racist, xenophobic calls and emails. MCPS is working with law enforcement to identify those who are making threats toward our students and schools. This behavior will not be tolerated in our community.
Rockville High School staff, with the support of the MCPS administration, are working closely with their community to heal after this tragedy. Tuesday night, the Rockville High School Parent Teacher Student Association held a meeting where police and school representatives provided an update on the investigation, school security and MCPS policies. The community used this opportunity to express their concerns and ask questions of the principal, law enforcement and MCPS staff.
In addition to the questions we heard last night, we have received many questions from community members seeking to learn more about our policies. To help answer these questions we have created a web page that includes information and resources about our system policies; frequently asked questions and more. We will continue to update the page as more information becomes available.
MCPS is committed to the safety and security of our students and schools. In the coming days, we will share more about our efforts to ensure the safety of every student in our 204 schools.
Respectfully,
Jack R. Smith
Superintendent of Schools
