Sexual Abuse Of Minor Sends Former AACPS Employee To Prison

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — A former Anne Arundel County Public Schools employee was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a student, officials announced Wednesday.

Authorities identified the offender as 41-year-old Mark Thoms of Severna Park. An incident report noted he pleaded guilty on April 30 to sex abuse of a minor and continuing course of conduct.

The release said Thoms was a behavior specialist for the Mary Moss Academy, also known as the Mary Moss @ J. Albert Adams Academy. The Annapolis facility is an alternative education site for AACPS students in grades six through nine who are often working on their behavior or class performance.

Thoms befriended the victim's parent and convinced them he could help their daughter's behavioral issues, the press release said. Officials mentioned the victim would go to Thoms' Severna Park and Annapolis homes, where the suspect abused and raped her.

The child said Thoms "sexually assaulted her more than 40 times" over a span of three years, authorities indicated. The first incident occurred when the girl was 11 years old, the write-up stated. The release also said Thoms gave the victim alcohol and marijuana.

"Sexual abuse against a minor is a particularly heinous crime, because it involves a violation of trust as well as the exploitation of a child," Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess wrote. "It is clear that he picked this particular victim and family for the purpose of gaining access to the child so that he could abuse her."

The child's mother reported the allegations to the Anne Arundel County Police Department on Aug. 12, 2020, officials informed.

"If you know someone who is a victim of sexual abuse, please encourage them to tell a trusted adult, guidance counselor at school or call the Sexual Assault Crisis Center and Hotline at 410-222-6800," Leitess said.

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