ANNAPOLIS, Md. — After four weeks on trial, a former Severna Park Elementary School teacher was acquitted of 18 counts of sexually abusing his students.
Matthew Schlegel was arrested and charged in May 2024 after eight students accused him of assault in the classroom months earlier.
At the time, Anne Arundel County Schools said they reassigned Schlegel to a role requiring no direct contact with students.
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While Schlegel was cleared of the most serious charges, a jury was hung on three counts of second-degree assault.
Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess reacted to the verdict by issuing this message to the alleged victims.
“We believe you. We stand behind you. Hundreds of people stand behind you. This will not define you, this will make you more resilient as you move on in your life.”
Leitess also emphasized how children involved in the case, and their parents, were cross-examined for hours.
"I can’t remember any other cases where witnesses have beencrossed examined for hours and hours," said Leitess. "The bottom line is, this is certainly not the outcome we hoped forin this case. Our criminal justice system expects a lot from child victims,and this case was no exception."
By law prosecutors could seek to retry Schlegel on those three charges, which still carries potential prison time.
WMAR-2 News contacted the school system to check on Schlegel's employment status following the jury's decision.
Chief Communications Officer, Bob Mosier, said so far nothing has changed.
“There are proceedings still to be carried out in this case, including a hearing today, and it would, therefore, be inappropriate for us to comment at this time,” said Mosier.
Schlegel remains jailed at this time. His bail hearing is scheduled for 1:30pm Wednesday.
