Police said they are still investigating an alleged sexual assault at Wilde Lake Middle School, while at least one county school official assured parents that the incident was an “isolated event” at a town hall meeting on school safety at the school Wednesday night.

Principal Scott Conroy called the meeting to provide more information and outline safety guidelines at the school after a female student alleged that two boys sexually assaulted her in a bathroom on May 20. About 150 people attended.

“We want to give people as much information as we can,” he said. “We want to let them know what we do to keep their children safe.”

Lt. Roland Denton, who heads the Howard County Police Department’s division of family crimes and sexual assaults, said detectives are still examining the case, and have determined that the incident was not gang-related and was “not a random act.”

“No one just grabbed the young lady and took her into the bathroom,” he said. “The victim was acquainted with the two boys prior to the incident.”

Denton said there is no timetable on when the investigation will conclude, but told parents police are treating the case as a priority.

“There could be charges eventually, but there will not be names listed in those charges,” he said. “If there are any charges, we don’t know when they will be filed, but I do not believe it would not be more than a few months.”

Conroy also presented a brief overview of the school’s safety and security measures, such as staff monitoring before school, between classes and during lunch and classes. He also noted that the school has several security cameras.

“We are always working to provide a more safe and nurturing environment for our students,” he said.

Parents were also given the chance to submit written questions. While the majority of the questions sought more information about the incident, a number also dealt with security at the school.

One parent asked why the school did not use police officers for security, as is often done at county high schools.

But Kevin Burnett, the county’s school security coordinator, said that is not possible.

“We do not have the same problems of the same magnitude in middle school that we have in high school,” he said. “This was an isolated event and as long as that’s the case, the county does not have the resources to put police at every middle school.”

Burnett said the system is considering additional security cameras for the school, and is encouraging parents to volunteer during the day to help patrol the school’s hallways.
 
Parents had mixed emotions about the information provided.

Veronica Owens said she thought the meeting was a “big waste of time.”

“Everything they said was just general and vague. There wasn’t anything specific for us to work with,” she said. “They just talked to us about what they wanted to deal with, not what we need to know.”

Owens said she wanted to hear more information about what was being done to prevent violence in the school. She said her daughter was attacked by another student at the school at one point and felt that more security should be provided.

“There’s a problem here and they need to face that problem and do more to stem it,” she said.

But Debra Kafami, the school’s incoming PTA president, said she was optimistic the school would provide more information and a more measured response as the police department’s investigation continued.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions, certainly,” she said. “But I’m sure the school will take a lot of these unanswered questions, find the answers and use that to move forward and make it a better learning environment.”

County Council member Mary Kay Sigaty was also present. She said she understood the angst among parents, but believed school officials were doing their best.

“Clearly, there’s a real sense of worry and desire to be able to talk about things that are troubling to parents and see something come of it,” she said. “But the school should be commended for how they’ve responded. They’re presenting as much information as they can.”

Conroy said that is his hope.

“There’s always going to be questions, but we’re going to be here — I’m going to be here — to answer as many of their questions as  possible.”

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