Maryland
Man charged with ‘groomer’ vandalism arrested in child porn case
Move came eight months after police seized laptop during search of home
A Takoma Park, Md., man who was arrested last June on two counts of hate-related destruction of property for allegedly spray painting the word “groomer” on two public library buildings he told police were supportive of the LGBTQ community was arrested again on Feb. 3 for possession of child pornography.
According to charging documents filed in the District Court of Maryland in Rockville, Montgomery County police charged Charles M. Sutherland, 31, with six counts of misdemeanor possession of child pornography.
The charging documents state that the latest arrest is based on information obtained by police at the time Sutherland was charged last June in the spray-painting incident. At that time, the documents state, Sutherland waived his Miranda rights to remain silent, admitting to the vandalism allegations, and consented to a search of his residence.
The charging documents state that inside his apartment at 116 Lee Ave. in Takoma Park, police “observed numerous diapers, children’s dolls, and a child sized doll in the bed of Sutherland.” One of the charging documents adds, “According to Sutherland he has no children or nieces or nephews. Sutherland also stated that he had images consistent with child pornography on a laptop in his residence.”
That admission by Sutherland prompted Prince George’s County police to obtain a search warrant that enabled them to locate and seize the laptop, the charging document says. For reasons not explained, the charging document says it took until Jan. 11, 2023, about seven months, for a digital forensic examination of the laptop to be completed.
It says that on Jan. 31, P.G. County police arranged for a Montgomery County police detective to view video files and other images on the laptop that had been taken from Sutherland’s apartment. The charging document says most of the files consist of video images of a “prepubescent female’s vagina displayed as a focal point.” It says one of the files consists of an “image of prepubescent male with buttocks displayed.”
The online docket for the Maryland District Court for Montgomery County says a judge ordered Sutherland held without bond at the time he appeared in court for a bond hearing on March 1.
WTOP News has reported that Sutherland is a librarian who at the time of his first arrest for vandalism last June had been working at Northview Elementary School in Bowie, Md. The school system has said Southerland was placed on administrative leave at that time.
Court records show that a jury trial on the vandalism charges for Sutherland was scheduled for Aug. 8, 2023.
Neither Sutherland nor his attorney could be immediately reached for comment.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed a bill that decriminalizes HIV in the state.
State Dels. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) and Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) are among the lawmakers who sponsored House Bill 39 or the Carlton R. Smith Act, which is named after the long-time activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in May 2024.
Smith was a member of the Coalition to Decriminalize HIV in Maryland that advocated for the bill. FreeState Justice, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, was also part of the coalition.
“At FreeState Justice, we are proud to stand with advocates, health experts, and lawmakers who worked diligently to advance this bill. The bipartisan support for the Carlton R. Smith Act is a testament to the power of education, research, and courageous leadership,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry in a statement. “It sends a clear message: Maryland is committed to evidence-based policymaking and to ending the criminalization of people living with HIV. We honor the memory of Carlton R. Smith by continuing the work of building a more just, inclusive, and informed society.”
Maryland is the fifth state to decriminalize HIV.
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, in March signed a bill that decriminalized HIV in his state.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump
BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.
So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.
“F—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,” a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Md. schools plan to comply with federal DEI demands
Superintendents opt for cooperation over confrontation
By LIZ BOWIE | Deciding not to pick a fight with the Trump administration, Maryland school leaders plan to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that says their school districts are complying with all civil rights laws.
The two-paragraph letter could deflect a confrontation over whether the state’s public schools run diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that the Trump administration has called illegal. The Baltimore Banner reviewed the letter, which was shared by a school administrator who declined to be identified because the letter has not yet been sent.
Maryland school leaders are taking a more conciliatory approach than those in some other states. Education leaders in Minnesota, New York, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin said they will not comply with the federal education department’s order, the demands of which, they say, are based on a warped interpretation of civil rights law.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
PHOTOS: Silver Pride
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Pride, patriotism, and prosperity
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Sinners and Saints bar vandalized in suspected anti-LGBTQ hate crime
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
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