ABERDEEN, Md. — Criminal charges have been dropped against a pair of former Harford County school employees.
Tanya Johnson and Regina Jones each faced two misdemeanor counts of neglecting to report child abuse.
Back in April 2023, a student at Aberdeen Middle School reported being raped.
Despite being notified of the incident, neither Johnson or Jones, who was school principal at the time, alerted child protective services or police.
As result both were indicted in September 2024.
RELATED: Former Aberdeen Middle School principal charged, accused of failing to report student rape
However, the Harford County State's Attorney's Office says they were forced to drop the case due to an apparent loophole in Maryland law.
Here's how prosecutors explained it in a statement to WMAR.
"The statute defining abuse and sexual abuse only requires reporting when the reported abuser is a parent, household or family member, or someone who has care and custody of the victim. In this case, because the rape was committed by another juvenile, the facts do not support conviction, and the matters were dismissed. It is unfortunate that the legislature chose not to include this type of case in mandatory reporting and the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office will be a strong advocate in supporting the expansion of this statute to ensure that children are protected regardless of who their abuser might be."
As for the rape case itself, police charged a 17-year-old suspect.
According to a spokesperson, Jones and Johnson are no longer employed by Harford County Public Schools
