The Baltimore Police Department and the FBI are investigating a substitute teacher at a Johns Hopkins daycare center convicted of distributing child sexual abuse material last year, the university said Sunday.
Court records show Simone Avery, 23, is serving a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in September to two child sexual abuse material charges in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Once Avery is released, she will have to register with the state as a sex offender and undergo three years of supervised probation.
As it stands, Avery’s registration will last 25 years. It was not immediately clear whether the investigation described as “deeply disturbing” by Johns Hopkins pertains to her original allegations, or if a new criminal case is possible.
Branville Bard Jr., Johns Hopkins’ vice president for public safety, said the university did not know about the arrest or the conviction until Friday.
“This is a terrible violation of trust and an affront to the safety of our most vulnerable — the children of our faculty, staff, students, and neighbors,” Bard wrote in Sunday’s community letter. “We are here to support anyone needing help during this time, including those who are not directly involved.”
Phone numbers listed in online advertisements and public records for Avery’s defense lawyer were not in service Monday.
Until last May, two months before her arrest, Avery was a substitute teacher with Downtown Baltimore Child Care, a nonprofit that provides classroom services for daycares at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Johns Hopkins and DBCC officials confirmed that Avery worked at the Homewood Early Learning Center, a daycare primarily for families of university workers and students. According to its website, the center can serve up to 94 children, from 10 weeks old through preschool age. Although it is open to community members, the center prioritizes children whose parents are affiliated with the university.
In a statement Monday, DBCC Executive Director Hilary Roberts-King said law enforcement has identified and notified victims’ families and that although the investigation is ongoing, there is “no information that there are additional DBCC victims at this time.”
“The safety and well-being of the children entrusted to our care is always our highest priority,” Roberts-King said. “We are working with law enforcement to understand more of what has occurred and will cooperate with any investigation that arises from this information.”
DBCC said that Avery had passed both federal and state background checks before and during her employment.
The nonprofit encouraged anyone with information relevant to this investigation to contact the FBI Baltimore Field Office at 410-265-8080 or submit tips at tips.fbi.gov.
This story will be updated.
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