A paraeducator at Shady Grove Middle School who was seen masturbating on camera during a virtual link with students won’t be charged criminally, a police spokesman said on Thursday.
Marc Schack, a paraeducator who works with special education students, told Bethesda Beat on Wednesday that he didn’t realize his behavior had been captured on video until a reporter asked him about it. Schack said he thought the Zoom video connection had been disabled.
“It was just a mistake on my part,” Schack said in an interview, adding that he thought he had turned off his connection to the virtual call. “I’m only human. It was my bad.”
Schack said he was placed on administrative leave from Montgomery County Public Schools on Monday, but no one mentioned the video to him.
Montgomery County police said on Wednesday that after school officials notified them of the video, they investigated.
Police spokesman Rick Goodale said in an interview on Thursday that the investigation had concluded by Thursday morning and a decision had been made not to charge Schack.
“It did not rise to the level of a criminal offense under Maryland law,” he said.
MCPS spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala wrote in an email on Thursday afternoon that the district is “still investigating” the incident and Schack remains on administrative leave.
Staff writer Caitlynn Peetz contributed to this story.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media