Case of Stanley Ashman
(AKA: Stanley Virgil Ashman, Butch Ashman)
(1972 - 1997) Park School - Baltimore, MD
Laurel, DE
Social Studies Teacher and Student Advisor, Roeper School - Birmingham, MI
Former Marine and Vietnam Veteran
Police are asking any other victims who have not come forward to contact the Baltimore County Police Department's Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650. Ashman was a teacher at the Park School from 1972 through 1997.
Accused and arrested on charges relating to having sex with a 14-year-old girl at his Baltimore home and at the Park School.
A woman who had been a student of Ashman's in the 1970s at the Park School, contacted police in May, 2006 to say she had been sexually abused, according to court records. The woman told police that as a youngster she sometimes watched Ashman's children while he graded papers at his home in the Pimlico area of Baltimore.
The alleged victim said they had sex several times a week through her ninth-, tenth- and eleventh-grade years, usually at Ashman's home. She also said they had sex in a wooded area at the school and in a closet.
In 2006, police overheard a telephone conversation between the woman and Ashman in which the former teacher admitted to having sex with her when she was 14, and repeatedly apologized, according to court records.
He was arrested in Birmingham, Michigan on June 9, 2006 and extradited to Baltimore County on June 20, 2006.
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Table of Contents:
2006
- Ex-Park teacher accused in abuse (07/24/2006)
- Former Teacher Arrested For Child Sex Abuse (07/24/2006)
- Former Park School teacher charged with sex abuse of student in 1970s (07/25/2006)
- Teacher Accused of '70s Sex Abuse (07/25/2006)
- Teacher charged with child abuse (07/26/2006)
- Officials find no abuse report ; Park School head says Balto. Co. was told in '97 (07/26/2006)
- No records found alleging sex abuse by private school teacher (07/28/2006)
- Former Park School teacher is arrested (07/28/2006)
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Ex-Park teacher accused in abuse
Man, 60, is arrested years after girl said incidents happened
By Nicholas Shields and Laura Barnhardt
Baltimore Sun - July 24, 2006
A former teacher at an elite Baltimore County private school has been accused of sexual abuse by a student who came forward three decades after the alleged incidents because she learned that he had returned to teaching in another state.
Stanley Virgil Ashman, who taught at the Park School from 1972 to 1997 and, more recently at another school in Michigan, is accused of having sex with a then-14-year-old girl at his Baltimore home and at the Park School.
The headmaster from the school issued a statement Monday saying that officials became aware of the allegation in 1997 and reported it to state social services officials.
The state keeps a database of child abusers that is shared with educators and others conducting background checks, a spokeswoman said Monday. It was unclear Monday whether police investigated the allegations against Ashman nine years ago.
Officials at the Roeper School, which educates gifted students in suburban Detroit, said their background checks on the teacher, including the most recent one in April, had come up clean.
Randall Dunn, the head of the Michigan school, issued a statement saying there had been no complaints about Ashman. He said Ashman, a social studies teacher, taught at the school for six years.
Cathy Wilmer, a math and English teacher at the school and mother of two boys who were taught by Ashman there, said she was shocked to hear of the allegations.
"He took great care with everything he did with the kids," she said. "We really have nothing but high regards for the man."
A woman who had been a student of Ashman's in the 1970s at the Park School contacted police in May to say she had been sexually abused, according to court records. The woman told police that as a youngster she sometimes watched Ashman's children while he graded papers at his home in the Pimlico area of Baltimore.
She said they had sex several times a week through her ninth-, tenth- and eleventh-grade years, usually at the teacher's house. She also said they had sex in a wooded area at the school and in a closet, the court records show.
In May, police overheard a telephone conversation between the woman and Ashman in which the former teacher admitted to having sex with her when she was 14, and repeatedly apologized, according to court records.
Ashman, 60, was charged in a warrant with child abuse, police said. He was arrested June 9 in Michigan and was extradited to Baltimore County on June 20.
He was released on $25,000 bond, and is staying with friends in the area, police said.
Ashman, who is known as "Butch," is a former Marine and Vietnam veteran.
At Park, Ashman, along with a Vietnam war protester, taught a history course on the ethics of violence and nonviolence, along with a Vietnam war protester. He was also selected to work on a summer research project for the school on how best to teach history, according to news accounts.
In Michigan, members of the Wilmer family said Ashman imparted his experiences while teaching a military history class at the Roeper School.
"He was the best teacher I ever had," said 17-year-old Nathan Wilmers, who will be a freshman at the University of Chicago. "I've always know him to be somebody of great integrity."
Laura Panek, a biology teacher who said Ashman served as a mentor for her, said, "I've trusted him completely with very personal things and he's never been anything but supportive."
The Park School is a coeducational, prekindergarten-to-grade-12 school of nearly 900 students in Brooklandville. The school emphasizes debate and individual thought and expression, according to its Web site.
In a statement released Monday, David Jackson, head of the Park School, said he met with Ashman in 1997 after learning of the allegations against him, and the teacher then resigned. He told Ashman that the school would not be a reference for any future employment, and there has been no communication between the teacher and the school since, according to the statement.
Russell P. Butler, executive director of Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center says children can be protected by something as simple as a call to check a reference, but it is harder to track down information about potential hires, especially across state lines, when an allegation hasn't resulted in a conviction.
The state of Maryland keeps a database of child abusers that can be used by educators, law enforcement officials and others conducting background checks nationally, said Elyn Jones, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Human Resources.
The state places a person on the registry when an investigation finds evidence that they've abused a child. The finding would mean that there was evidence to warrant criminal charges against that person, Jones said.
The person's name would remain on the registry even if charges were dropped or a person was found not guilty. A name can be removed from the registry by administrative appeal, Jones said. The state does not keep records when a claim of abuse is found to be unsubstantiated, she said.
In a case such as Ashman's, social services agencies at the county or state level would not investigate because the victim was already an adult when the allegation is said to have been made, Jones said. Instead, Jones said, the information would be forwarded to police.
Baltimore County and City police were not able to say Monday whether they had investigated the matter nine years ago.
Baltimore County police Monday asked anyone with information to call the department's Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650.
Sun reporters Nicole Fuller and Liz F. Kay contributed to this article.
Man, 60, is arrested years after girl said incidents happened
By Nicholas Shields and Laura Barnhardt
Baltimore Sun - July 24, 2006
A former teacher at an elite Baltimore County private school has been accused of sexual abuse by a student who came forward three decades after the alleged incidents because she learned that he had returned to teaching in another state.
Stanley Virgil Ashman, who taught at the Park School from 1972 to 1997 and, more recently at another school in Michigan, is accused of having sex with a then-14-year-old girl at his Baltimore home and at the Park School.
The headmaster from the school issued a statement Monday saying that officials became aware of the allegation in 1997 and reported it to state social services officials.
The state keeps a database of child abusers that is shared with educators and others conducting background checks, a spokeswoman said Monday. It was unclear Monday whether police investigated the allegations against Ashman nine years ago.
Officials at the Roeper School, which educates gifted students in suburban Detroit, said their background checks on the teacher, including the most recent one in April, had come up clean.
Randall Dunn, the head of the Michigan school, issued a statement saying there had been no complaints about Ashman. He said Ashman, a social studies teacher, taught at the school for six years.
Cathy Wilmer, a math and English teacher at the school and mother of two boys who were taught by Ashman there, said she was shocked to hear of the allegations.
"He took great care with everything he did with the kids," she said. "We really have nothing but high regards for the man."
A woman who had been a student of Ashman's in the 1970s at the Park School contacted police in May to say she had been sexually abused, according to court records. The woman told police that as a youngster she sometimes watched Ashman's children while he graded papers at his home in the Pimlico area of Baltimore.
She said they had sex several times a week through her ninth-, tenth- and eleventh-grade years, usually at the teacher's house. She also said they had sex in a wooded area at the school and in a closet, the court records show.
In May, police overheard a telephone conversation between the woman and Ashman in which the former teacher admitted to having sex with her when she was 14, and repeatedly apologized, according to court records.
Ashman, 60, was charged in a warrant with child abuse, police said. He was arrested June 9 in Michigan and was extradited to Baltimore County on June 20.
He was released on $25,000 bond, and is staying with friends in the area, police said.
Ashman, who is known as "Butch," is a former Marine and Vietnam veteran.
At Park, Ashman, along with a Vietnam war protester, taught a history course on the ethics of violence and nonviolence, along with a Vietnam war protester. He was also selected to work on a summer research project for the school on how best to teach history, according to news accounts.
In Michigan, members of the Wilmer family said Ashman imparted his experiences while teaching a military history class at the Roeper School.
"He was the best teacher I ever had," said 17-year-old Nathan Wilmers, who will be a freshman at the University of Chicago. "I've always know him to be somebody of great integrity."
Laura Panek, a biology teacher who said Ashman served as a mentor for her, said, "I've trusted him completely with very personal things and he's never been anything but supportive."
The Park School is a coeducational, prekindergarten-to-grade-12 school of nearly 900 students in Brooklandville. The school emphasizes debate and individual thought and expression, according to its Web site.
In a statement released Monday, David Jackson, head of the Park School, said he met with Ashman in 1997 after learning of the allegations against him, and the teacher then resigned. He told Ashman that the school would not be a reference for any future employment, and there has been no communication between the teacher and the school since, according to the statement.
Russell P. Butler, executive director of Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center says children can be protected by something as simple as a call to check a reference, but it is harder to track down information about potential hires, especially across state lines, when an allegation hasn't resulted in a conviction.
The state of Maryland keeps a database of child abusers that can be used by educators, law enforcement officials and others conducting background checks nationally, said Elyn Jones, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Human Resources.
The state places a person on the registry when an investigation finds evidence that they've abused a child. The finding would mean that there was evidence to warrant criminal charges against that person, Jones said.
The person's name would remain on the registry even if charges were dropped or a person was found not guilty. A name can be removed from the registry by administrative appeal, Jones said. The state does not keep records when a claim of abuse is found to be unsubstantiated, she said.
In a case such as Ashman's, social services agencies at the county or state level would not investigate because the victim was already an adult when the allegation is said to have been made, Jones said. Instead, Jones said, the information would be forwarded to police.
Baltimore County and City police were not able to say Monday whether they had investigated the matter nine years ago.
Baltimore County police Monday asked anyone with information to call the department's Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650.
Sun reporters Nicole Fuller and Liz F. Kay contributed to this article.
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Former Teacher Arrested For Child Sex AbuseWJZ / Associated Press - July 24, 2006
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) Å\ Baltimore County Police have arrested Stanley Virgil Ashman, 60, for allegedly sexually abusing a fourteen-year-old girl in 1973.
Now, the police are asking any other possible victims to come forward.
The abuse took place for approximately three years from 1973 through 1975 while Ashman taught at the Park School in the 2400-block of Old Court Road, Baltimore, MD.
Ashman allegedly abused the victim at the school and at his former residence on Crest Road in the Pimlico area of Baltimore City.
Detectives say that the victim, who was then a ninth grader at the Park School, was sexually abused by Stanley Ashman who was her teacher and student advisor.
The victim tells police that Ashman would volunteer after school to monitor activities. During these activities, the victim says Ashman would have sexual intercourse with her, sometimes in a wooded area of the school, and other times within the school.
She also tells detectives that Ashman abused her in his former Pimlico home after having her baby-sit his own children.
He resigned from the school in 1997 after a meeting with David Jackson, the head of school at the Park School. In a statement released Monday to The Associated Press, Jackson said he first learned of the allegation in 1997 and said he reported it to the Maryland Department of Social Services.
"There has been no communication between Mr. Ashman and the school since that time," he said.
The victim contacted police after learning that Ashman was again teaching at another private school in Michigan called the Roeper School. His current address is in the 1900-block of Washington Boulevard, Birmingham, Michigan.
Ashman was charged with child abuse on a warrant from Baltimore County.
He was arrested in Birmingham, Michigan on June 9, 2006 and extradited to Baltimore County on June 20, 2006. He has posted a $25,000 bail.
Police are asking any other victims who have not come forward to contact the Baltimore County Police Department's Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650. Ashman was a teacher at the Park School from 1972 through 1997.
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) Å\ Baltimore County Police have arrested Stanley Virgil Ashman, 60, for allegedly sexually abusing a fourteen-year-old girl in 1973.
Now, the police are asking any other possible victims to come forward.
The abuse took place for approximately three years from 1973 through 1975 while Ashman taught at the Park School in the 2400-block of Old Court Road, Baltimore, MD.
Ashman allegedly abused the victim at the school and at his former residence on Crest Road in the Pimlico area of Baltimore City.
Detectives say that the victim, who was then a ninth grader at the Park School, was sexually abused by Stanley Ashman who was her teacher and student advisor.
The victim tells police that Ashman would volunteer after school to monitor activities. During these activities, the victim says Ashman would have sexual intercourse with her, sometimes in a wooded area of the school, and other times within the school.
She also tells detectives that Ashman abused her in his former Pimlico home after having her baby-sit his own children.
He resigned from the school in 1997 after a meeting with David Jackson, the head of school at the Park School. In a statement released Monday to The Associated Press, Jackson said he first learned of the allegation in 1997 and said he reported it to the Maryland Department of Social Services.
"There has been no communication between Mr. Ashman and the school since that time," he said.
The victim contacted police after learning that Ashman was again teaching at another private school in Michigan called the Roeper School. His current address is in the 1900-block of Washington Boulevard, Birmingham, Michigan.
Ashman was charged with child abuse on a warrant from Baltimore County.
He was arrested in Birmingham, Michigan on June 9, 2006 and extradited to Baltimore County on June 20, 2006. He has posted a $25,000 bail.
Police are asking any other victims who have not come forward to contact the Baltimore County Police Department's Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650. Ashman was a teacher at the Park School from 1972 through 1997.
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Former Park School teacher charged with sex abuse of student in 1970sBy Kathleen Cullinan
Baltimore Examiner - July 25, 2006
Baltimore County - A former teacher at the elite Park School in Baltimore County has been charged with sexually abusing a ninth-grade student in the early 1970s, police said.
Stanley V. Ashman, 60, was tracked down to the front lawn of his Birmingham, Mich., home on June 9 by local police, arrested and extradited to Baltimore County later that month, officials said. Ashman resigned from the Park School in 1997 after the school heard the allegations against him, school officials said. He was a social studies teacher at a school for gifted and talented children in Michigan until his arrest.
"I met with Mr. Ashman immediately," David Jackson, head of the Park School, said in a prepared statement.
The allegations were reported to the Maryland Department of Social Services, he said, and "I informed the teacher that Park would not be a reference for any future employment."
That was the last the school heard of him, Jackson said.
The Roeper School fielded no complaints against Ashman during his tenure there, said school head Randall Dunn. A background check conducted as recently as April in accordance with Michigan law turned up nothing problematic.
"He was terrific. He was a beloved teacher here," Dunn said.
He said he did not personally hire Ashman, but said it was fair to say someone would have contacted the Park School to check on his employment history.
Ashman's accuser told police the alleged abuse went on for three years, from 1973-75, when he was her teacher, adviser and a monitor of after-school activities, Baltimore County police said. The woman said he would have sex with her in and around the school and would abuse her in his Baltimore home when she came over to baby-sit his children.
She said she decided to report the alleged abuse because she found out Ashman was working at Roeper, police said.
Baltimore County prosecutor Jason League declined to comment on Ashman's case, but said obstacles these types of older cases can generally face include fading memories, difficulty finding witnesses and the different laws on criminal abuse that existed at the time.
Ashman was charged with child abuse and is out on $25,000 bail, police said. His attorney said he is reviewing the case and declined to comment on the charges.
Baltimore County police are asking for others who may have been victimized during Ashman's tenure at the Park School, from 1972-97, to call their Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650.
Baltimore Examiner - July 25, 2006
Baltimore County - A former teacher at the elite Park School in Baltimore County has been charged with sexually abusing a ninth-grade student in the early 1970s, police said.
Stanley V. Ashman, 60, was tracked down to the front lawn of his Birmingham, Mich., home on June 9 by local police, arrested and extradited to Baltimore County later that month, officials said. Ashman resigned from the Park School in 1997 after the school heard the allegations against him, school officials said. He was a social studies teacher at a school for gifted and talented children in Michigan until his arrest.
"I met with Mr. Ashman immediately," David Jackson, head of the Park School, said in a prepared statement.
The allegations were reported to the Maryland Department of Social Services, he said, and "I informed the teacher that Park would not be a reference for any future employment."
That was the last the school heard of him, Jackson said.
The Roeper School fielded no complaints against Ashman during his tenure there, said school head Randall Dunn. A background check conducted as recently as April in accordance with Michigan law turned up nothing problematic.
"He was terrific. He was a beloved teacher here," Dunn said.
He said he did not personally hire Ashman, but said it was fair to say someone would have contacted the Park School to check on his employment history.
Ashman's accuser told police the alleged abuse went on for three years, from 1973-75, when he was her teacher, adviser and a monitor of after-school activities, Baltimore County police said. The woman said he would have sex with her in and around the school and would abuse her in his Baltimore home when she came over to baby-sit his children.
She said she decided to report the alleged abuse because she found out Ashman was working at Roeper, police said.
Baltimore County prosecutor Jason League declined to comment on Ashman's case, but said obstacles these types of older cases can generally face include fading memories, difficulty finding witnesses and the different laws on criminal abuse that existed at the time.
Ashman was charged with child abuse and is out on $25,000 bail, police said. His attorney said he is reviewing the case and declined to comment on the charges.
Baltimore County police are asking for others who may have been victimized during Ashman's tenure at the Park School, from 1972-97, to call their Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650.
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Teacher Accused of '70s Sex Abuse
Washington Post/Associated Press - July 25, 2006
A man who used to teach at a private school in Baltimore has been charged with sexually abusing a student more than 30 years ago.
Stanley V. Ashman, 60, was arrested last month in Birmingham, Mich., where he was teaching at the Roeper School, police said. Roeper is a private school for gifted and talented children, according to its Web site.
Ashman taught at the Park School in Baltimore from 1972 to 1997. Ashman's accuser told police that she came forward when she learned that Ashman was teaching again.
Police said the abuse began in 1973, when his accuser was in the ninth grade and Ashman was her teacher and student adviser. She told detectives that Ashman had sex with her from 1973 to 1975 and that the abuse occurred inside the school, in a wooded area near the school and at Ashman's home, where she baby-sat for him.
Ashman was released on $25,000 bond after his extradition to Baltimore last month.
Washington Post/Associated Press - July 25, 2006
A man who used to teach at a private school in Baltimore has been charged with sexually abusing a student more than 30 years ago.
Stanley V. Ashman, 60, was arrested last month in Birmingham, Mich., where he was teaching at the Roeper School, police said. Roeper is a private school for gifted and talented children, according to its Web site.
Ashman taught at the Park School in Baltimore from 1972 to 1997. Ashman's accuser told police that she came forward when she learned that Ashman was teaching again.
Police said the abuse began in 1973, when his accuser was in the ninth grade and Ashman was her teacher and student adviser. She told detectives that Ashman had sex with her from 1973 to 1975 and that the abuse occurred inside the school, in a wooded area near the school and at Ashman's home, where she baby-sat for him.
Ashman was released on $25,000 bond after his extradition to Baltimore last month.
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Teacher charged with child abuse
By Lori Higgins
Free Press Education - July 26, 2006
Stanley Ashman has been charged in Baltimore with having sex with a young teenager in 1973-75.
A popular teacher at the Roeper School in Birmingham is charged with child abuse, a felony, for having sex with a former student in the early 1970s when he taught in Baltimore, police said Tuesday. Stanley V.(Butch) Ashman was arrested June 9 in Birmingham and extradited June 20 to Baltimore.
The former student called Ashman on May 29 and he admitted having sex with her, according to police who listened to the call.
"He repeatedly apologized for his actions," police said.
Shortly after his arrest, Ashman, 60, resigned from his job as a history teacher at Roeper, an elite private school for gifted students with campuses in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills.
"During his employment at Roeper, we received no complaints and he has been cleared by all criminal background checks prior to and during his tenure at the school," Head of School Randall Dunn said Tues- day, reading a prepared statement.
In an interview, Dunn said Ashman was a "well-regarded and beloved" teacher. "Folks are shocked and dismayed and sad," he said.
Calls to Ashman's Birmingham home Tuesday were not returned.
Ashman came to Roeper Upper School in 1999. From 1972 to 1997 he taught at the Park School in Baltimore, an elite private school serving more than 800 students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grades. It was there that he befriended a girl, now 46, who told authorities in May that Ashman had sex with her over a three-year period, beginning when she was a ninth-grader. It was when she learned that Ashman was teaching in Michigan that she contacted police in Maryland. "She was afraid he might victimize someone else. So she came forward," a police spokesman said. Ashman, who lived in Baltimore, was both a teacher and adviser to die girl.
According to the Baltimore County Police Department, the sexual relationship began one day when she was baby- sitting Ashmaifs children and he was home. "Mr. Ashman laid her on the floor and had sexual intercourse with her. She remembers that he told her not to tell anyone because they both would get in trouble," the report said. The two had sex several times a week in 1973-75 -- mostly at Ashman's house, but also in the school and in a wooded area of the campus, the report said.
The woman first reported her allegations in 1997 to officials at the Park School. David Jackson, the head of the school, said in a statement Monday that Ashman resigned after the allega- tions came to light. Jackson also said he notified the Maryland Department of Social Services in 1997 of the allegations. But Bill Toohey, spokesman for the Baltimore County Police Department, said Tuesday there is no evidence the school reported the allegation. Marcia Ruff of Pleasant Ridge, whose daughter attends Roeper, said Ashman inspired students to love history. "He is just an extraordinary teacher. He was most students' favorite teacher," she said. She said Roeper officials would not have known of the allegations since no charges had been filed before Ashman was hired. And, she said, the community at the school is close enough that if anything inappropriate had happened, people would have known.
"People know each other within the school. We pay attention to each other," Ruff said.
Ashman has been released on $25,000 bond. If he's convicted on the felony child abuse charge, he could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.
Baltimore County police ask that any other potential victims come forward by calling 410-853-3650.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By Lori Higgins
Free Press Education - July 26, 2006
Stanley Ashman has been charged in Baltimore with having sex with a young teenager in 1973-75.
A popular teacher at the Roeper School in Birmingham is charged with child abuse, a felony, for having sex with a former student in the early 1970s when he taught in Baltimore, police said Tuesday. Stanley V.(Butch) Ashman was arrested June 9 in Birmingham and extradited June 20 to Baltimore.
The former student called Ashman on May 29 and he admitted having sex with her, according to police who listened to the call.
"He repeatedly apologized for his actions," police said.
Shortly after his arrest, Ashman, 60, resigned from his job as a history teacher at Roeper, an elite private school for gifted students with campuses in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills.
"During his employment at Roeper, we received no complaints and he has been cleared by all criminal background checks prior to and during his tenure at the school," Head of School Randall Dunn said Tues- day, reading a prepared statement.
In an interview, Dunn said Ashman was a "well-regarded and beloved" teacher. "Folks are shocked and dismayed and sad," he said.
Calls to Ashman's Birmingham home Tuesday were not returned.
Ashman came to Roeper Upper School in 1999. From 1972 to 1997 he taught at the Park School in Baltimore, an elite private school serving more than 800 students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grades. It was there that he befriended a girl, now 46, who told authorities in May that Ashman had sex with her over a three-year period, beginning when she was a ninth-grader. It was when she learned that Ashman was teaching in Michigan that she contacted police in Maryland. "She was afraid he might victimize someone else. So she came forward," a police spokesman said. Ashman, who lived in Baltimore, was both a teacher and adviser to die girl.
According to the Baltimore County Police Department, the sexual relationship began one day when she was baby- sitting Ashmaifs children and he was home. "Mr. Ashman laid her on the floor and had sexual intercourse with her. She remembers that he told her not to tell anyone because they both would get in trouble," the report said. The two had sex several times a week in 1973-75 -- mostly at Ashman's house, but also in the school and in a wooded area of the campus, the report said.
The woman first reported her allegations in 1997 to officials at the Park School. David Jackson, the head of the school, said in a statement Monday that Ashman resigned after the allega- tions came to light. Jackson also said he notified the Maryland Department of Social Services in 1997 of the allegations. But Bill Toohey, spokesman for the Baltimore County Police Department, said Tuesday there is no evidence the school reported the allegation. Marcia Ruff of Pleasant Ridge, whose daughter attends Roeper, said Ashman inspired students to love history. "He is just an extraordinary teacher. He was most students' favorite teacher," she said. She said Roeper officials would not have known of the allegations since no charges had been filed before Ashman was hired. And, she said, the community at the school is close enough that if anything inappropriate had happened, people would have known.
"People know each other within the school. We pay attention to each other," Ruff said.
Ashman has been released on $25,000 bond. If he's convicted on the felony child abuse charge, he could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.
Baltimore County police ask that any other potential victims come forward by calling 410-853-3650.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Officials find no abuse report ; Park School head says Balto. Co. was told in '97
Baltimore Sun - July 26, 2006
Baltimore County authorities said yesterday that they can find no records of any allegations being raised in 1997 against a private school teacher now charged with sexually abusing a student decades ago.
County police and social services officials said a records search produced no evidence that they had received a report in 1997 from the Park School of allegations against the teacher, who went on to teach in Michigan before his arrest last month.
Stanley Virgil Ashman, who taught at the Park School from 1972 to 1997 and more recently at a private school in Michigan, is accused of having sex with a then-14-year-old girl at his Baltimore home and at the Park School in the 1970s.
The headmaster of the Park School said in a statement that he learned about the allegations in 1997, met with Ashman and immediately contacted social services officials.
The issue could be central to questions about how the teacher was able to move to Michigan and begin teaching at another school, which apparently was unaware of any abuse allegations.
Maryland law requires educators, doctors, nurses, police officers and human-services workers to report suspicions of child abuse to authorities, according to state and county social services officials.
Educators are obligated to notify authorities about suspected child abuse regardless of the accuser's age, said Stephen Berry, a policy specialist at the state Department of Human Resources. "Even if the alleged maltreater is deceased, [educators] still have an obligation to report the abuse," he said.
Maureen Robinson, a spokeswoman for Baltimore County Department of Social Services, said the agency has a database of calls it receives and can trace reports by an alleged victim's name, but no record of the school's call could be found.
"I'm not saying they absolutely didn't call," Robinson said. "But our systems don't reflect that."
A spokeswoman for the Park School said yesterday that David Jackson, head of the school, called the county social services agency in September 1997 when he learned of allegations against Ashman and met with the longtime teacher. As a result of the meeting, Ashman resigned in 1997, Jackson said in the statement, released Monday after police announced Ashman's June arrest.
The county agency "was given the name, address and phone number of Mr. Ashman," said Hillary Jacobs, a Park School spokeswoman. Jacobs said the school did not write a letter to the county, but that Jackson had kept his notes from the phone conversation with the authorities.
Jackson was unavailable for comment, Jacobs said.
Public schools in Baltimore County are required to follow up phone calls to social workers with letters so that there are written records to show the school has met its obligations to report suspected child abuse, Robinson said.
The former student, who is 46 years old, contacted police about the alleged abuse in May, because, police said, she had heard that Ashman returned to teaching. The woman told police that she and Ashman had sex several times a week through her ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade years, usually at the teacher's house. She also said they had sex at the school, the court records show.
The woman declined to comment yesterday. The Sun does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes.
Ashman, 60, was charged in a warrant with child abuse in June, police said this week.
The state keeps a database of the names of people who have been investigated by social workers when allegations of child abuse are substantiated, said Berry, of the state Department of Human Resources. But access to it is limited.
While the state receives hundreds of requests from adoption agencies each month, it is far less common for schools to routinely check the registry in their background checks of potential employees, Berry said.
Officials at the Roeper School, where Ashman taught social studies to gifted students in suburban Detroit, said their background checks on Ashman, including the most recent one in April, had come up clean.
Jacobs, the spokeswoman for the Park School, said school administrators had never received any requests for information about Ashman's teaching record there. And, in the statement released Monday, Jackson said that he had told Ashman that the school would not be a reference for him.
Randall Dunn, head of the Michigan school, said Monday that Ashman taught there for six years without incident. Dunn said that Ashman resigned from his teaching position last month and informed the school that he had been taken into police custody.
Ashman, who was arrested June 9 in Michigan, was extradited to Baltimore County on June 20. He was released on $25,000 bond, police said.
No records found alleging sex abuse by private school teacher
Grand Haven Tribune - July 28, 2006
TOWSON, Md. (AP) - Authorities have been unable to find records of allegations against a private school teacher charged with sexually abusing a student decades ago.
Stanley Virgil Ashman, 60, was arrested last month in Birmingham, Mich., where he was teaching at the private Roeper School, police said. He is accused of having sex with a then-14-year-old girl at his Baltimore home and at the Park School in the 1970s.
The headmaster of the Park School issued a statement saying that he learned about the allegations in 1997, met with Ashman and contacted social services officials. Maryland law requires educators, doctors, nurses, police officers and human-services workers to report suspicions of child abuse to authorities. But Baltimore County police and social services officials said a search of records produced no evidence that they had received such a report.
Maureen Robinson, a spokeswoman for Baltimore County Department of Social Services, said the agency has a database of calls, but no record of the school's call could be found. "I'm not saying they absolutely didn!t call," Robinson told The (Baltimore) Sun. "But our systems don't reflect that." Aspokeswoman for the Park School said Tuesday that David Jackson, head of the school, called the county social services agency in September 1997 when he learned of allegations against Ashman and met with him. As a result of the meeting, Ashman resigned in 1997, Jackson said in the statement, which was released Monday after police announced Ashman's June arrest.
The county agency "was given the name, address and phone number of Mr. Ashman," according to Hillary Jacobs, a Park School spokeswoman. Jacobs said the school did not write a letter to the county, but that Jackson had kept his notes from the phone conversation with the authorities. Jackson was unavailable for comment, Jacobs told The Sun. Police said the abuse began in 1973, when the victim was in the ninth grade and Ashman was her teacher and student adviser at the Park School.
The victim told police she came forward when she learned Ashman was teaching again. Randall Dunn, head of school at Roeper School in Michigan, said Ashman resigned at the end of this school year after six years, saying he was resigning because of an arrest in Baltimore. "During his employment at Roeper, we received no complaints and he has been cleared by all criminal background checks prior to and during his tenure at the school," Dunn said in a statement. Ashman was released on $25,000 bond.
Baltimore Sun - July 26, 2006
Baltimore County authorities said yesterday that they can find no records of any allegations being raised in 1997 against a private school teacher now charged with sexually abusing a student decades ago.
County police and social services officials said a records search produced no evidence that they had received a report in 1997 from the Park School of allegations against the teacher, who went on to teach in Michigan before his arrest last month.
Stanley Virgil Ashman, who taught at the Park School from 1972 to 1997 and more recently at a private school in Michigan, is accused of having sex with a then-14-year-old girl at his Baltimore home and at the Park School in the 1970s.
The headmaster of the Park School said in a statement that he learned about the allegations in 1997, met with Ashman and immediately contacted social services officials.
The issue could be central to questions about how the teacher was able to move to Michigan and begin teaching at another school, which apparently was unaware of any abuse allegations.
Maryland law requires educators, doctors, nurses, police officers and human-services workers to report suspicions of child abuse to authorities, according to state and county social services officials.
Educators are obligated to notify authorities about suspected child abuse regardless of the accuser's age, said Stephen Berry, a policy specialist at the state Department of Human Resources. "Even if the alleged maltreater is deceased, [educators] still have an obligation to report the abuse," he said.
Maureen Robinson, a spokeswoman for Baltimore County Department of Social Services, said the agency has a database of calls it receives and can trace reports by an alleged victim's name, but no record of the school's call could be found.
"I'm not saying they absolutely didn't call," Robinson said. "But our systems don't reflect that."
A spokeswoman for the Park School said yesterday that David Jackson, head of the school, called the county social services agency in September 1997 when he learned of allegations against Ashman and met with the longtime teacher. As a result of the meeting, Ashman resigned in 1997, Jackson said in the statement, released Monday after police announced Ashman's June arrest.
The county agency "was given the name, address and phone number of Mr. Ashman," said Hillary Jacobs, a Park School spokeswoman. Jacobs said the school did not write a letter to the county, but that Jackson had kept his notes from the phone conversation with the authorities.
Jackson was unavailable for comment, Jacobs said.
Public schools in Baltimore County are required to follow up phone calls to social workers with letters so that there are written records to show the school has met its obligations to report suspected child abuse, Robinson said.
The former student, who is 46 years old, contacted police about the alleged abuse in May, because, police said, she had heard that Ashman returned to teaching. The woman told police that she and Ashman had sex several times a week through her ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade years, usually at the teacher's house. She also said they had sex at the school, the court records show.
The woman declined to comment yesterday. The Sun does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes.
Ashman, 60, was charged in a warrant with child abuse in June, police said this week.
The state keeps a database of the names of people who have been investigated by social workers when allegations of child abuse are substantiated, said Berry, of the state Department of Human Resources. But access to it is limited.
While the state receives hundreds of requests from adoption agencies each month, it is far less common for schools to routinely check the registry in their background checks of potential employees, Berry said.
Officials at the Roeper School, where Ashman taught social studies to gifted students in suburban Detroit, said their background checks on Ashman, including the most recent one in April, had come up clean.
Jacobs, the spokeswoman for the Park School, said school administrators had never received any requests for information about Ashman's teaching record there. And, in the statement released Monday, Jackson said that he had told Ashman that the school would not be a reference for him.
Randall Dunn, head of the Michigan school, said Monday that Ashman taught there for six years without incident. Dunn said that Ashman resigned from his teaching position last month and informed the school that he had been taken into police custody.
Ashman, who was arrested June 9 in Michigan, was extradited to Baltimore County on June 20. He was released on $25,000 bond, police said.
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Grand Haven Tribune - July 28, 2006
TOWSON, Md. (AP) - Authorities have been unable to find records of allegations against a private school teacher charged with sexually abusing a student decades ago.
Stanley Virgil Ashman, 60, was arrested last month in Birmingham, Mich., where he was teaching at the private Roeper School, police said. He is accused of having sex with a then-14-year-old girl at his Baltimore home and at the Park School in the 1970s.
The headmaster of the Park School issued a statement saying that he learned about the allegations in 1997, met with Ashman and contacted social services officials. Maryland law requires educators, doctors, nurses, police officers and human-services workers to report suspicions of child abuse to authorities. But Baltimore County police and social services officials said a search of records produced no evidence that they had received such a report.
Maureen Robinson, a spokeswoman for Baltimore County Department of Social Services, said the agency has a database of calls, but no record of the school's call could be found. "I'm not saying they absolutely didn!t call," Robinson told The (Baltimore) Sun. "But our systems don't reflect that." Aspokeswoman for the Park School said Tuesday that David Jackson, head of the school, called the county social services agency in September 1997 when he learned of allegations against Ashman and met with him. As a result of the meeting, Ashman resigned in 1997, Jackson said in the statement, which was released Monday after police announced Ashman's June arrest.
The county agency "was given the name, address and phone number of Mr. Ashman," according to Hillary Jacobs, a Park School spokeswoman. Jacobs said the school did not write a letter to the county, but that Jackson had kept his notes from the phone conversation with the authorities. Jackson was unavailable for comment, Jacobs told The Sun. Police said the abuse began in 1973, when the victim was in the ninth grade and Ashman was her teacher and student adviser at the Park School.
The victim told police she came forward when she learned Ashman was teaching again. Randall Dunn, head of school at Roeper School in Michigan, said Ashman resigned at the end of this school year after six years, saying he was resigning because of an arrest in Baltimore. "During his employment at Roeper, we received no complaints and he has been cleared by all criminal background checks prior to and during his tenure at the school," Dunn said in a statement. Ashman was released on $25,000 bond.
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Former Park School teacher is arrested
By Louis Llovio
Owings Mills Times - July 28, 2006
Police are looking for any victims of alleged sexual abuse by a former Park School teacher.
Stanley Ashman, 60, was arrested at his Michigan home for the alleged sexual abuse of a then-14-year-old ninth-grader in the mid-1970s. He was extradited to Baltimore County.
The alleged victim, who police have not identified, called Baltimore County detectives after finding that Ashman was teaching in Birmingham, Mich.
The alleged abuse is said to have occurred over a three-year period 1973 to 1975 in Ashman's Baltimore home and around the school in Brooklandville.
The alleged victim told police that she had sexual intercourse with him after baby-sitting Ashman's children and during after-school activities he supervised.
Police are asking any victims to call the Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650.
Ashman has posted bail and is awaiting trial.
By Louis Llovio
Owings Mills Times - July 28, 2006
Police are looking for any victims of alleged sexual abuse by a former Park School teacher.
Stanley Ashman, 60, was arrested at his Michigan home for the alleged sexual abuse of a then-14-year-old ninth-grader in the mid-1970s. He was extradited to Baltimore County.
The alleged victim, who police have not identified, called Baltimore County detectives after finding that Ashman was teaching in Birmingham, Mich.
The alleged abuse is said to have occurred over a three-year period 1973 to 1975 in Ashman's Baltimore home and around the school in Brooklandville.
The alleged victim told police that she had sexual intercourse with him after baby-sitting Ashman's children and during after-school activities he supervised.
Police are asking any victims to call the Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650.
Ashman has posted bail and is awaiting trial.
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