Maryland officials remain silent on housing young offenders in hotels after rape allegations

OWINGS MILLS, MD. — Maryland officials remain silent on the issue of housing violent teenagers in local hotels after a foster child was accused of raping a woman at an Owings Mills hotel in April.

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

The incident allegedly involved a teenager who had previously been convicted of rape in Baltimore City. The teenager was accused of raping a woman at Home2 Suites during his stay there, sources familiar with the investigation and the Randallstown NAACP said. Featured in Maryland.

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

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 “This regulation is no longer valid”

The Baltimore County Department of Social Services is a local office of the Maryland Department of Human Services and is under the direction of Governor Moore. In 2023, he appointed his current secretary, Rafael López.

Governor Moore has yet to publicly comment on the incident despite repeated requests from Spotlight in 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 a staff member” in April but did not provide further details.

“We have a really intense focus on improving and preserving the quality of life in Baltimore County and specifically in Black communities,” Ryan Coleman, president of the Randallstown NAACP, said in an interview Thursday. “We can’t let something like this happen.”

Spotlight in Maryland sent several questions to the leadership of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus on Friday morning about Coleman’s concerns about the quality of life in Black communities. These questions included:

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 local offices should be more transparent about housing juvenile offenders in public areas such as hotels?

Are you considering meeting with management about this issue?

Those questions were not 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. He released a brief statement through a spokesman on Thursday but declined to discuss details about the incident.

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

Gary Collins contributed to this report.

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