Incidentally, WND is reporting on another sexual assault case in Twin Falls, Idaho, in which the suspects are Iraqi and Sudanese migrants. That case, too, has sharply divided the local community, with many people organizing against ongoing refugee resettlement in the wake of the attack. Those who wanted to continue bringing in more refugees held counter-protests calling the anti-refugee groups racists. One Twin Falls city councilman, Chris Talkington, went so far as to brand the concerned citizens “white supremacists.”
Related stories:
“Forgotten case: Girl, 5, sexually assaulted by refugee boys”
“Illegal deported 4 times charged in sex attack on girl, 2”
But back in Maryland, at a news conference Tuesday, Smith said the illegal-alien rape must not become a political issue.
“While some would try to make this into a question and an issue of immigration, what comes down here is that we serve every student that walks in our door,” he said. “We are a public school system.”
Washington’s NBC-TV 4 reported that the principal has requested a police presence on campus after bomb threats were called into the school. One caller reportedly threatened to shoot “illegals” at the school, according to the station.
Rockville High School exteriors in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Pavlich said, “Smith avoided questions about the alleged sexual assault for days and had to be confronted by a reporter in the parking lot outside of his office before finally answering questions.”
Now Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, is demanding answers from the school system.
“Why is an 18-year-old man in a class with 13- or 14-year-old girls? Why was his status not known to those folks? Why was he allowed to enter the country after he was picked up for illegally crossing the border—both of them? So there are a lot of questions,” Hogan told Fox 5. “My biggest concern is the Montgomery County School System and their lack of cooperation and the lack of information they’ve been providing. Not only have they refused to provide any information to us, but they’ve refused to provide information to the state Board of Education, which specifically requested more information.”
Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner blasted Hogan on his Facebook page Tuesday, saying he’s disgusted that Hogan “would irresponsibly add fuel to the fire” by suggesting the county isn’t cooperating in the investigation. Berliner said the county has been and will continue to “fully cooperate with federal officials in this case and in any case in which public safety has been put at risk.”
On Thursday, Hogan told reporters: “We kind of want to let everybody do their jobs. I think the school system is taking it seriously, the police are taking it seriously, and there’s obviously a federal component to it that we’ve got to pay attention to.”
Fox 5 noted that Democrats in Maryland’s House of Delegates passed legislation Monday banning law enforcement officers from inquiring about the immigration status of suspects they arrest. Police are also banned from keeping the suspects jailed until federal authorities can deport them.
Gov. Hogan has said the bill effectively makes Maryland a sanctuary state.
“I’m going to veto it immediately,” he promised. I can’t imagine what these people were thinking. To even propose such a bill a few days after this girl was brutally raped by these two young men who were in this country illegally.”
As WND reported, Sanchez had a pending deportation order, which was not carried out while immigration activists tried to block the deportation.
“18-year-old criminals set to be deported should not be a freshman in our public schools,” stated a post on the website of Help Save Maryland, an organization that opposes illegal immigration.
Maryland is perhaps the most welcoming state for illegal aliens and refugees in the Eastern United States, with Montgomery County the most welcoming county in the state. Maryland gives in-state tuition rates to illegal-alien college students. Montgomery County is already a sanctuary county, denying 63 ICE requests to turn over illegal-alien criminals last year, Fox News reported.
When interviewed by police, Montano denied having any sexual contact with the victim. Rather, he said they went into the bathroom to “tell jokes.”
The two male students were arrested later that day at school. The school system put out the following statement without saying why two young men, ages 17 and 18, were placed in ninth grade, nor did it reveal the immigration status of the accused students:
“Ensuring a safe, secure and welcoming learning environment for all of our students is our top priority. Our staff remains vigilant in the monitoring of our school each and every day. Please remind your child that if they believe they are a victim of an assault or see something inappropriate, they should immediately tell a staff member.”
Forensic investigators said an inspection of the boys bathroom later turned up suspected blood “that may be mixed with male fluid,” the court documents stated.
Sanchez and Montano were living in the Aspen Hill neighborhood of Rockville, and they have been charged with first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sexual offense. They were denied bond by a judge who said they were dangerous and a flight risk.
If convicted, they could get life in prison.
WUSA 9 confirmed that ICE had a detainer on Sanchez, a citizen of Guatemala, who had an outstanding deportation order for his arrest. Yet he continued to attend school in Maryland.
The following is the entire email Thursday from Montgomery County Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith:
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.
Watch the video of the Meeting
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