A 21-year-old man who police say sneaked into Holabird Middle School last month and assaulted a boy in a restroom has been indicted by a Baltimore County grand jury on 12 counts that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Sean T. Schleigh, who was arrested at the scene on Dec. 16 after school staff members heard the 12-year-old boy's screams, could receive two life sentences plus 130 years if convicted on all the charges and given maximum terms.
The charges center on allegations that Schleigh waited in a bathroom of the Dundalk school until the boy came in, crudely propositioned him and, rebuffed, stuck a sock in the student's mouth, punched him in the face, neck and chest, and attempted to sexually assault him.
In the grand jury indictment, Schleigh was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree sex offense, each of which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; two counts of second-degree sex offense, 20 years each; kidnapping, 30 years; first-degree assault, 25 years; two counts of second-degree assault, 10 years and $2,500 in fines each; second-degree burglary, 15 years; trespassing upon a posted property, 90 days and a $500 fine; trespassing upon a school property, six months and a $1,000 fine; and false imprisonment, which could mean any penalty "that is not considered cruel or unusual punishment," according to the document.
Of the two second-degree assault counts, one refers to the alleged attack on the boy and the other to an altercation with a police officer assigned to the school who said she confronted Schleigh in a hallway outside the restroom. A probable-cause affidavit said he ignored orders to stop and ran into the officer, "trying to push his way around her by using physical force." The officer was able to overcome the 5-foot-8-inch, 145-pound man and place him under arrest after a brief struggle, the document said.
Under questioning, Schleigh "confessed that he really wanted to have sex with the boy," according to the affidavit. Schleigh said he picked that boy because the child was "small and blond," the document said.
Schleigh, who police say lives on the 1100 block of Oak Tree Drive in Havre de Grace, has a history of arrests for theft, trespassing and drug offenses. He remains incarcerated at the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson.