Because of a technicality in Maryland law, charges have been dropped against a Montgomery County teacher and athletic coach accused of having sex with a student he coached.
Scott D. Spear, 47, was charged last month with two counts of fourth-degree sex offense for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl on the Richard Montgomery High School cross country team he coached.
But prosecutors now say that charge doesn’t apply to Spear — who is also an eighth-grade teacher at Julius West Middle School — because he wasn’t a full-time employee at Richard Montgomery.
The case highlights a “major flaw” in Maryland’s law, said Kristin Fleckenstein, spokeswoman for the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“The law specifically says that he must be a full-time employee, and he was not a full-time teacher at the school where she attends,” Fleckenstein said. She said the charges were not dismissed for any reason related to the evidence.
Anne Arundel prosecutors were handling the case because the Montgomery State’s Attorney’s Office believed there could be perceived conflicts of interest due to people in that office who know Spear.
Police alleged that Spear took the girl he coached to a Rockville residence to have sex on two occasions in spring 2011.
A fourth-degree sex offense is used when an instructor has inappropriate relations with a student. The age of consent in Maryland is 16, so there aren’t other charges that could be filed in Spear’s case, Fleckenstein said.
Spear maintains that he didn’t commit a crime, said Steven VanGrack, his attorney.
“He has continually said he did not do anything inappropriate with any student or any athlete at any time,” VanGrack said. He said no evidence had surfaced in the case other than the initial statement of charges.
Anne Arundel prosecutors “saw the situation of Scott Spear and saw that it could not be a crime,” VanGrack said.
The attorney said Spear hopes to return to teaching and coaching. He had worked in Montgomery schools since 1993.
He remains on paid administrative leave, according to Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig.
Tofig said the school system is conducting its own investigation since the criminal case has been concluded.
