Ex-School Aide Deonte Carraway Indicted on 270 Counts in Child Sex Abuse Case

A former Maryland school aide has been indicted on hundreds of charges following allegations he sexually abused students at a Prince George's County elementary school.

A grand jury indicted Deonte Carraway on 270 counts of sex abuse of a minor, sex offenses and child pornography charges Tuesday. The indictment covers 23 victims.

"Mr. Carraway is facing multiple life sentences if he is found guilty of these offenses," Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said.

Carraway had served as an aide at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School in Prince George's County, first as a paid teacher's assistant and then as a volunteer.

Prosecutors say Carraway made videos of children having sex with him and each other at the school, at a church and at other locations in Maryland. The videos allegedly produced include videos showing Carraway having sex with a 9-year-old boy and an 11-year-old boy. He "threatened, pressured, enticed, and/or coerced children" to engage in the acts, the indictment said.

The alleged victims included children between the ages of 9 and 12, according to court documents.

The more than 50 videos he allegedly produced will be used as evidence, and the victims will not be put on the stand, Alsobrooks said.

Among the hundreds of charges Carraway is now facing: 23 counts of sex abuse of a minor; 125 counts of first-, second- and third-degree sex offenses; 66 counts of creating child pornography; and 56 counts of possessing child pornography. Some of the charges stem from acts depicted in cellphone videos taken on various dates, according to the indictment.

The alleged abuse occurred between August 2015 and February of this year, the indictment said.

All of the charges stem from Carraway's interactions with students at the school, the state's attorney's office said. 

Carraway has pleaded not guilty. In March, a judge ordered him to remain in jail as the case proceeds.

"He needs to not ever be around children again, as far as I'm concerned," said the mother of a 10-year-old victim. "He's where he needs to be right now."

In April, Carraway's public defenders argued that the court should suppress some of Carraway's statements because some of those statements might have been "involuntary." The attorneys also sought to suppress evidence taken from Carraway's cellphones.

His defense attorneys said Carraway "exhibited significant cognitive deficits, with a full scale IQ of 63, which placed his overall intellectual functioning in the deficient range."

Carraway was arrested Feb. 5 after the uncle of a 9-year-old boy saw a nude image on the child's phone, according to police. Police also said Carraway waived his rights and admitted his role in producing child pornography.

The state's attorney's office is conducting an investigation into whether anyone else should be held accountable.