Child molestation charges filed by authorities in Montgomery and Queen Anne’s counties against a Sidwell Friends School teacher came from one alleged student victim, the teacher’s attorney told The Examiner.
Pollice in Montgomery and Queen Anne’s counties have filed separate sex abuse of a minor charges against 65-year-old social studies teacher Robert A. Peterson, who was fired by the school last week.
Recommended Stories
Investigators have not confirmed that the incidents of alleged abuse were filed by one student or more than one, but Peterson’s attorney Barry Helfand said, “I have never been told, nor seen any document to say there’s more than one alleged victim.”
Helfand said he plans to fight the charges in court.
Montgomery County police say the abuse began in the summer of 2008 when Peterson offered to pay the boy, now 15, to do chores at Peterson’s house.
Queen Anne County authorities say Peterson molested a boy at the school’s Camp Corsica in summer 2009 while Peterson was the camp’s director.
Both police departments say a student informed authorities of inappropriate contact with his teacher in September, at which point, school officials say, they suspended Peterson. He was fired Jan. 14 when he was charged in Montgomery County, a month after charges were filed in Queen Anne’s.
