A former Baltimore County substitute teacher pleaded guilty Monday to stalking a 10-year-old girl, several times with binoculars and a gun in his car.
But Stephen Williams Stauffer, 54, of Glen Arm, will not face jail time because Baltimore County District Court Judge Edward Murphy sentenced Stauffer to probation before judgment, meaning he avoids a conviction for the crime.
Instead, Stauffer must serve three years of supervised probation, cannot work in any schools, and can have no contact with the 10-year-old he stalked or even enterher neighborhood.
“I was pleased to get the guilty plea on the stalking charge. … I was very, very concerned that he no longer be allowed to work in any school system,” said Baltimore County Assistant State?s Attorney Kim Detrick, who prosecuted the case.
Stauffer?s attorney, Kenneth Ravenell, said he believed the judge made the right decision.
His client “really is a good man and an upstanding citizen, who made a very poor decision that he regrets,” Ravenell said.
According to police, Stauffer was watching a Pinewood Elementary girl get off the bus on Dec. 8, as he said he had done “numerous” times.
After searching his vehicle, police found a .32-caliber handgun, five bullets in a magazine, binoculars, a camera with telephoto lens, a stuffed toy dog and a county substitute teacher card.
Stauffer told police he worked as a school volunteer last year and was concerned about the student?s safety. Principal Kathryn Arnold told police that Stauffer had been ordered off school property earlier this year, but that a staff member observed him on school grounds in October.
In his report, Detective Matthew Walsh said Stauffer told him that he “grew particularly attached” to a fifth-grade student. Stauffer believed he and the girl had “a very close relationship” and admitted he had secretly taken pictures of the girl at a Halloween party. Stauffer is also reported to have told Walsh, “I don?t have a great marriage,” and said watching the girl “gives [him] a feeling of peace” and “makes [him] feel good.”
Despite the charge, Ravenell said there is no indication that Stauffer presents a threat to the 10-year-old.
“He had no malice at all,” he said. “He cared very deeply for the children at Pinewood Elementary and the other children he worked with. He was quoted as saying he would take a bullet for any one of those children. He really was a caring, giving man. All three psychologists who interviewed him concluded that he was not a threat to this young lady or anyone else.”
