Annapolis police said the department has changed its protocol for communicating with school officials in criminal cases involving students after it was revealed that a high school senior charged this week in the assault of a classmate faced similar charges months earlier.
Troy Traon Reid, 17, of Heritage Court was charged Wednesday with attempted second-degree rape and sexual assault after an Annapolis High School classmate told school officials that Reid had lured her into the woods near the school and attacked her.
Court records show that Reid faced similar charges in June stemming from an incident in the spring. When asked why Reid was allowed to remain at school, county schools spokesman Bob Mosier said that the school was not told of Reid's previous charges until this week.
Maj. Scott Baker said the department did tell school officials that they were investigating the first allegations when they were reported to police in May, but he concedes that school officials were not told of Reid's arrest, which occurred in June, according to records.
"They knew about the investigation, and information was exchanged," Baker said. The detective investigating the incident suggested the students be separated, but "it wasn't done," Baker said.
Mosier responded that Board of Education policy does not allow schools to move students unless they have been charged. "We can't seek alternate placement if they haven't been charged," Mosier said. "Charges are the trigger."
Baker said the Police Department is required to exchange information by the Safe Schools Act signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley in May, which was intended to remove barriers between law enforcement and school officials. The law was prompted by incidents of bullying around the state, including an incident involving a Crofton teen who was beaten to death by gang members.
On Friday, Baker said the Annapolis department will now inform school officials at each step of an investigation involving students and make recommendations to the schools.
Police will also send daily reports in cases involving students and not wait for an arrest to be made.
In the most recent allegations, Anne Arundel County police said that on Sept. 29, Reid lured a female student from the school and into the nearby woods across from the Arundel Olympics Swim Center.
On a footpath in the woods, Reid made advances toward the girl but was rebuked, police said. They accuse him of throwing a large stick at the girl as she tried to run away, knocking her down, and then sexually assaulting her, according to police.
The female student returned to the school and later reported the attack to the school resource officer, county police said.
Anne Arundel police handled the incident at the high school, because it is located in the county, whereas the first incident was reported in the city of Annapolis.
Reid has been charged as an adult with attempted second-degree rape, first and second-degree sex offense, sodomy and other related charges. He is being held without bond at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center.
Baker said the Annapolis incident in which Reid faces charges is "fairly similar to the one that occurred at the high school."
Baker said that Reid had been on a date with a student he knew from school and walked with her in the area of the 200 block of Youngs Farm Road, making advances, but the 16-year-old girl resisted. Reid is accused of sexually assaulting her in the area, Baker said.
In that incident, Reid was released on bond the day after he was arrested. The disposition of that case is unknown because it has since been sent to juvenile court and those records are sealed, according to Kristin Fleckenstein, a spokeswoman for the Anne Arundel County state's attorney.
About 10:30 a.m. Friday, Anne Arundel County officers were again called to Annapolis High School where the girl who said she was sexually assaulted by Reid in September was assaulted in the hallway by a 15-year-old girl. Police said the 15-year-old is a friend of Reid's. She was given a juvenile citation for second-degree assault and released to the custody of a parent. Police said the other teen was not injured.
jkanderson@baltsun.com