Maryland officials remain silent on housing juvenile offenders in hotels after alleged rape

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Maryland officials remain silent about housing violent juvenile offenders in local hotels after a foster child was accused of raping a woman at an Owings Mills hotel in April.

Maryland in the spotlightreported On Thursday, the Randallstown NAACP sent a letter to Governor Moore earlier this month demanding answers about an incident that occurred in April 2024 at the Home2 Suites on Painters Mill Road.

The incident reportedly involved a juvenile previously convicted of rape in Baltimore City. The minor was accused of raping a woman at Home2 Suites while she was housed there, sources familiar with the investigation and the Randallstown NAACP said. Maryland in the spotlight.

Home2 Suites confirmed in a statement that the incident involved a minor in foster care and “his assigned caregiver.”

“Home2 Suites Owings Mills previously had an agreement with Baltimore County Social Services whereby the county could purchase room rentals for the temporary placement of children in foster care along with their caregivers,” a hotel spokesperson wrote. “This arrangement no longer exists.”

The Baltimore County Department of Social Services is a local office of the Maryland Department of Human Services, which falls under Governor Moore’s administration. He appointed the current secretary, Rafael López, in 2023.

Gov. Moore has not yet publicly commented on the incident, despite repeated requests from Spotlight on Maryland. A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Human Services confirmed that the agency received a “report from one of our partner agencies regarding an incident involving an employee” in April, but did not provide further details.

“We are really focusing hard on improving and preserving the quality of life in Baltimore County and especially in Black communities,” Ryan Coleman, the president of the Randallstown NAACP, said in an interview Thursday. “We just can’t let things like this happen.”

Spotlight on Maryland sent several questions to the leadership of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus on Friday morning about Coleman’s concern for the quality of life in Black communities. Those questions include:

Do you believe the Randallstown NAACP’s concerns are legitimate?

Do you believe the state is neglecting the quality of life for Black communities in Baltimore County?

Do you believe that the state and its local offices should be more transparent about housing juvenile offenders in areas open to the community, such as hotels?

Do you plan to discuss this with the board?

Those questions had not yet been answered as of Friday afternoon.

Other elected officials, including Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson, did not respond to requests for comment. Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski Jr. issued a brief statement through a spokesman Thursday but declined to discuss details of the incident.

“The allegations are horrific and deeply disturbing, and if true, Baltimore County will support any effort to hold individuals accountable and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” the spokesperson said.

Gary Collins contributed to this report.

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