Suspended Maryland teacher found not guilty of sexual abuse in partial verdict
Suspended Maryland teacher Matthew Schlegel has been found not guilty on 18 counts of sexual abuse and sex offenses in a partial verdict Tuesday. The jury was unable to agree on the remaining three charges.
Matthew Schlegel, 45, worked as a third-grade teacher at Severna Park Elementary School in Anne Arundel County. In 2024, he was charged with sexually abusing eight students during class time between 2022 and 2024.
Parents of the five girls who testified in the trial left the courtroom devastated on Tuesday.
Jury deadlocked on 3 charges
On Tuesday, the jury agreed on a partial verdict, coming to a consensus on 18 of the charges against Schlegel. However, they were unable to agree on three of the charges.
Jury deliberations in Schlegel's trial lasted three days. On Monday evening, the jury told the judge they were deadlocked on four of the 21 charges.
Judge Pamela Alban used the Allen charge and asked members to keep trying to find common ground.
By Tuesday afternoon, they informed Judge Alban that they had agreed on one more charge, but doubted they would be able to come to a consensus on the rest.
Testimony in Matthew Schlegel's trial
Schlegel's five-week-long trial began on May 19. He faced 21 charges, including sexual abuse of a minor and assault.
During the trial, five 10-year-old girls testified that Schlegel touched them inappropriately on several occasions.
One girl told the jury that after Schlegel was removed from the school, she spoke to another alleged victim who suggested the inappropriate touching may have been the reason he left.
A mother of the alleged victim said she found the note on her daughter's iPad.
The defense team emphasized that the girls were interested in "solving the mystery," and couldn't tell their parents they were joking. One of the girls then told the courtroom she was afraid to report the incident because she was scared of getting in trouble.
Schlegel took the stand in his trial, denying the allegations against him. His wife was also called as a witness, according to our partners at
Schlegel's defense team -- Peter O'Neill, Patrick Seidel and Andrew Harvey -- said Schlegel will likely be released from custody at his bail review hearing Wednesday afternoon.
