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Crimes spark bus stop safety concerns

Police, school officials urge emergency plan for families

By HEATHER RAWLYK, Staff Writer

Published 09/28/09

An attempted child abduction in Jessup; the report of a suspicious man following a young girl in Millersville; the sexual assault of a high school student as she walked through an Odenton neighborhood.

J. Henson — The Capital / file

While county police say these crimes are unrelated, the incidents have something in common: They happened this month to students as they were walking to, or were waiting at, their school bus stops.

County school officials are now asking parents to talk to their children about these crimes and reinforce basic safety rules. Police are recommending parents teach their kids an emergency plan should they ever encounter such a situation.

Bob Mosier, county schools spokesman, said school officials are concerned about the recent crimes involving students and bus stops.

He said school officials are working closely with police, and are notifying parents to inform them of the crimes, dispel rumors and encourage them to "have a conversation" with their children about safety.

After each incident, principals of the involved schools posted a letter to parents on each school's Web site and sent paper copies home with students, Mosier said. School officials also used the automated phone system to notify parents about the crimes.

"We alert parents and hopefully encourage those conversations over dinner to reinforce those basic safety rules and put some precautions in place," he said.

The latest incident was reported Tuesday morning. A sixth-grader at Old Mill Middle School North in Millersville told police she noticed a strange man staring at her as she headed to her bus stop at Severn Tree Boulevard and Heather Mist Drive, school Principal Sean McElhaney wrote in a letter sent home to parents.

The man began following the girl, he said, and the girl dropped her backpack and ran to the nearby home of a friend. The two stayed inside until the man left the area; they then went to the bus stop.

"The student retrieved her book bag, which had been moved from the location where she dropped it. Upon inspection, she noticed someone had written an unsettling message in one of her notebooks," McElhaney wrote.

The students told administrators about the man once they got to school, and school officials called police.

Police continue to investigate the incident, said Justin Mulcahy, a county police spokesman.

Later that day, a woman allegedly tried to kidnap a 4-year-old boy as he walked to a Jessup bus stop with his mother close by.

The prekindergarten student was walking from his mother's car to the bus stop at the playground in the 7800 block of Clark Road about 12:30 p.m. when a woman walked up to the boy, picked him up and began to walk away with him in her arms, according to Jason Otte, Jessup Elementary assistant principal.

The boy yelled for the woman to put him down, Mulcahy said. The woman set the child down and ran away. Police later found her at a nearby trailer park.

Leslie Banker Offutt, 49, of 7810 Clark Road, trailer C29, was charged with kidnapping a child under 16, abduction of a child under 12 and second-degree assault. She is being held at the Jennifer Road Detention Center in Parole on $100,000 bond.

According to court documents, Offutt, who was identified by the boy's mother, told police she picked up the child, but did not offer a motive.

Tuesday's events came less than two weeks after the sexual assault and attempted rape of an Arundel High School student.

On Sept. 10, a 19-year-old senior was walking toward her school bus stop on Mount Vernon Avenue in Odenton about 6:30 a.m. when she was attacked from behind.

According to court documents, a man said, "Don't scream or you will die," then forced the girl into the fenced backyard of a home on Mount Vernon Avenue. The man then tried to tie the girl's hands with clear wire and shoved a handkerchief into her mouth to keep her from screaming, the documents say.

The man ripped off the girl's shirt and sexually assaulted her. When the girl fought back, police said, the man struck her in the back of the head with a hard object. The girl was able to fight off her attacker and run away.

The girl told police she was familiar with the man, who went to school with her the year before. Police found the man and interviewed him that afternoon. He admitted attacking the girl, court documents say.

Jameson Bryan Knott, 19, was charged with attempted first-degree rape, attempted first-degree sex offense, fourth-degree sex offense, first-degree assault, false imprisonment and kidnapping. He is being held without bond at the Jennifer Road Detention Center.

Have a plan

Mulcahy said parents should take this opportunity to come up with a safety plan.

"Parents should tell their children to be vigilant of their surroundings," he said. "Children should walk in groups, especially younger children. Parents should speak to them about hypothetical situations - come up with an action plan and ask them what they'd do in this situation. Teach them to yell for help."

He pointed out that the 4-year-old boy screamed and asked to be put down.

In his letter to Jessup Elementary School parents, Otte pointed out the need for parents to keep an eye on young children, even at school bus stops.

"This incident … points out the need for all of us to be aware at all times when transporting children to and from schools and bus stops," Otte wrote in a letter to parents. "Please take those extra minutes to ensure your child's safety. In this case, we were fortunate that the child's mother was watching nearby and was able to provide key information to police."

Mulcahy added that young children should learn their home phone numbers and street address. If children are old enough, he suggests they carry a cell phone with emergency contact numbers.

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Eyes wide open - 2009-10-01 10:17:05

Creeps are everywhere and we all should be vigilant 24/7 365.Creeps dont take a break and neither should we.I agree with Jen,do what you must to defend yourself.

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A. Barham - crownsville, MD - Karma: Excellent

Fight back - 2009-09-29 17:35:16

Good for the four year old who screamed - great job on the young lady who ran to a nearby house for safety. They did the right thing, now maybe some parents in the areas should take turns walking to the bus stop and keeping an eye on things.

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Lola H. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

Youth Center ??? - 2009-09-29 08:22:50

Is that going to keep the 49 mother from down the street from picking up the 4 year old? Get real. It also would not have stopped the perverted male from watching the kids going to the bus stop. As for the 19 year old, there is more to the story that we are being told. Since the victim knew her attacker.

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Rick M. - Laurel, Md - Karma: Excellent

we must ... - 2009-09-28 18:09:50

We must build a youth activity center, Leopold must hold a town hall type meeting.

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Fred Shubbie - , - Karma: Terrible

AS I SEE IT - 2009-09-28 15:41:35

by Mainer Mike Brown

If these scumbags that hurt children were removed from the rest of society permanently in the first place, we'd have less to worry about.

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mike brown - hiram, me - Karma: Terrible

Key - 2009-09-28 12:28:10

When you are out by yourself and walking, you need to be aware of your surroundings, regardless of the time of day. Also, placing a large key between your first and 2nd finger and the rest of the key chain in your hand, becomes a very fast and effective weapon to fight off an attacker.

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Rick M. - Laurel, Md - Karma: Excellent

Words to the Wise - 2009-09-28 12:07:34

I have two young nieces and what their parents have taught them is to fight back. Kick, scream, wrestle and fight, and do whatever they need to do to get away. Once one of these crazies has the kid in their car their surival is slim. We taught them that even if crazy has a gun to run or fight anyway, their survial is better to be shot and not taken than to be taken. Lastly, don't bite the attacker, they might have deadly diseases.

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Jen Rhoades - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent