Police say they asked for the name and the security video. The parents say no adult was watching, and they got conflicting answers about the cameras. Nearly a month later, MCPS has not answered the specifics in public.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Montgomery County police say a report has been filed stating that a student kicked a 6-year-old girl with autism in her private area at Flower Hill Elementary School. Police also say they asked Montgomery County Public Schools for the student’s name, and the district declined.
Police made that statement Sept. 3. Nearly a month after the Aug. 28 incident, MDBayNews has found no public explanation from MCPS of why it withheld the name, who was supervising the playground, or what its cameras recorded.
What police have confirmed
“Police asked MCPS for the student’s name, and MCPS declined to share it.”
According to DC News Now, which updated its report Sept. 3, the Montgomery County Department of Police said:
- A police report was filed stating that a student kicked the girl in her private area at the school.
- Police asked MCPS for the student’s name, and MCPS declined to share it.
- Officers asked the school for security video.
Police have not publicly said how they are classifying the case. Montgomery Community Media reported it was assigned to the Special Victims Investigations Division. MCPD says that division investigates sex crimes against children and adults, physical child abuse and other crimes against vulnerable victims. Under Maryland’s Juvenile Justice Reform Act, juvenile courts generally have no jurisdiction over delinquency cases against children under 13, with exceptions starting at age 10 for alleged crimes of violence, as the Supreme Court of Maryland restated July 22 in In re D.E. Montgomery Community Media reported that the accused student is 6 and cannot be charged.
What the parents say
“Their complaint is about supervision and how the school has responded.”
The girl’s mother told DC News Now that her daughter came home with blood in her underwear. The parents say the girl told them a boy kicked her repeatedly inside an enclosed playground tunnel, and that it took careful questions to understand her because she is on the autism spectrum. They say doctors documented cuts and bruising. DC News Now noted it had not independently verified the medical findings.
The parents allege no adult was supervising the children. They say administrators first told them no cameras covered the area, then acknowledged video existed. According to the parents, an administrator described footage showing the girl entering the tunnel, three boys entering from the other side, and the girl coming out crying and holding her private area, with no adult visible in the camera’s view. Montgomery Community Media reported that the parents’ request to see the video was denied.
The family filed a police report, hired an attorney, and pulled their daughter from the school while seeking a transfer. The mother told DC News Now she does not blame the boy her daughter identified. “He’s just a child,” she said. Their complaint is about supervision and how the school has responded.
MCPS’s answer: a privacy letter
“MDBayNews has found no public explanation from MCPS for that decision, or for how many adults were on the playground.”
An MCPS spokesperson told DC News Now on Sept. 2 that the district was looking into it. The district did not answer questions about playground supervision before that night’s report aired.
The next day, Principal Teryl Nawezi sent Flower Hill families a letter, which MCPS provided to Montgomery Community Media. She cited laws governing the privacy of student and personnel matters, said MCPS is following its procedures, and said silence should not be read as confirming every allegation.
Police say they asked MCPS for the student’s name and the district declined to provide it. MDBayNews has found no public explanation from MCPS for that decision, or for how many adults were on the playground.
The campaign’s claims
Maldonado for Council sent a news release Wednesday relaying more of the parents’ account. Harold Maldonado is the Republican nominee for Montgomery County Council District 7. According to the release, the parents say:
- They repeatedly tried to reach MCPS leadership, including Superintendent Thomas Taylor, without a meaningful response.
- Police officers who went to the school to investigate were denied entry.
- They were eventually shown video days after they asked, and they believe it had been altered.
Treat these as the family’s claims as relayed by a campaign. DC News Now also reported the denied-entry allegation, and its account of the police statement did not address it. As of that Sept. 3 report, neither the parents nor the station had seen the video. MDBayNews has found no independent confirmation that any footage was altered, and no MCPS response to the claim.
The release calls the girl five. DC News Now and Montgomery Community Media both say six.
The politics
Maldonado faces Democratic incumbent Dawn Luedtke on the Nov. 3 ballot and says the school sits in District 7. He called on MCPS, Taylor and the Board of Education to answer. Children’s privacy, he said, “cannot become an excuse” for shielding officials from scrutiny. He also said he has had similar treatment from the school system. On X, his @MocoResistance account went further and called for both Taylor and Luedtke to resign.
The district also went into this school year after a budget fight. On June 4, the Board of Education adopted a $3.72 billion budget, $36 million below MCPS’s original request. MCPS said 415 positions were affected, 159 of them vacant. The district also said it was keeping the 21 elementary school security assistants hired last year. No source reviewed by MDBayNews ties the reductions to Flower Hill, and the school’s staffing on Aug. 28 has not been disclosed.
“Nearly a month after the Aug. 28 incident, key questions about supervision, video and the district’s response remain unanswered publicly.”
What MCPS has not said
- Why it declined to give police the accused student’s name.
- How many adults were supervising the playground when the incident happened.
- What the surveillance footage shows, when it was preserved, and who has viewed it.
- Why the parents say they were first told no cameras covered the area.
- Whether police were turned away at the school, and who made that call.
- Whether Taylor or his office ever responded to the family.
What to Watch
- The police investigation. Whether the Special Victims Investigations Division releases findings or gets the name and video.
- The video. Whether MCPS confirms it has been preserved and says who has seen it.
- The Board of Education. Whether members answer the family publicly.
- The Nov. 3 ballot. Whether the case becomes a District 7 campaign issue.
Sources: DC News Now, “Parents allege 6-year-old girl seriously injured at Flower Hill Elementary School in Gaithersburg,” by Ben Dennis, published Sept. 2 and updated Sept. 3, 2026. Montgomery Community Media, “6-year-old girl with autism allegedly assaulted at Gaithersburg school, principal responds to news reports,” early September 2026. Maldonado for Council news release, Sept. 23, 2026. Montgomery County Department of Police, Investigative Services Bureau page (Special Victims Investigations Division), accessed Sept. 24, 2026. MCPS, “Montgomery County Board of Education Adopts the Fiscal Year 2027 Operating Budget,” June 4, 2026. MCPS, Flower Hill Elementary School website (principal and assistant principal listings), accessed Sept. 23, 2026. MACo Conduit Street, “Some At-Large Seats Remain Too Close To Call in Montgomery Council Primary,” June 24, 2026. Bethesda Magazine, “County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke seeks second term,” Oct. 7, 2025. MCPS 2026-27 calendar for Election Day, Nov. 3. Supreme Court of Maryland, In re D.E., No. 59, Sept. Term 2025, filed July 22, 2026.
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