The news release from the Aberdeen Police Department caused outrage in the community: “Former Principal and Paraeducator Charged with Failure to Report Rape of a Student.”

Regina Jones, the former principal of Aberdeen Middle School, and Tanya Johnson, the paraeducator, detectives alleged, did not make a report to police or Child Protective Services after a student on April 13, 2023, disclosed that a 17-year-old sexually assaulted her.

But under Maryland law, neither of the employees committed a crime.

More than five months after obtaining the indictments, prosecutors recently dropped the charges against Jones, 44, of Havre de Grace, and Johnson, 56, of Aberdeen.

In a statement, Caylin Ryden, chief of administration for the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, said people in certain professions are required to report sexual abuse when the perpetrator is a parent, household or family member, or a person with care or custody or responsibility for supervising a child.

Because a teen who does not fit that description is accused of committing the rape, Ryden said, “the facts do not support conviction, and the matters had to be dismissed.”

“It is unfortunate that the legislature chose not to include this type of case in mandatory reporting and the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office will be a strong advocate in supporting the expansion of this statute to ensure that children are protected regardless of who their abuser might be,” Ryden said.

The move comes not long after Patrick Seidel, Jones’ attorney, filed a motion to dismiss the charges and made that legal argument.

Assistant state’s attorneys initially opposed the motion but then dropped the case.

“The law on this topic is just crystal clear if you just read it,” Seidel said. “What I find most upsetting about this case is instead of doing the proper research, they just charged first and figured out what the law was later.”

Seidel said his client and a social worker, Eva Thornton, called the parent or guardian, brought her into the middle school and allowed the family to make the decision about how to proceed.

He said there was never an attempt to interfere with or delay a criminal investigation.

Jones, he said, at least deserves an apology.

“What they did, you can’t unring that bell,” he said. “The damage that they’ve caused to her reputation, I don’t see how you can fix it.”

Thornton, 66, of Joppa, pleaded guilty on July 2 in Harford County Circuit Court to failing to report child abuse or neglect and accepted probation before judgment, which is not a conviction and cannot be appealed.

It’s unclear, if anything, what will happen with her case.

Her attorney, James Scott, said he was not at liberty to discuss the matter.

The lead public information officer for Aberdeen Police, Capt. Will Reiber, referred questions to the state’s attorney’s office.

“It’s beyond our control,” Reiber said. “We put together the facts of the case, submitted it to the state’s attorney’s office. It was indicted. Whatever judicial decision was made, it is what it is.”

Harford County Public Schools placed Jones on extended leave and fired Johnson.

Aaron Poynton, president of the Harford County Board of Education, said in an email that it was not commenting at this time. A spokesperson for Harford County Public Schools, Jillian Lader, referred to his response.

Johnson’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Andrew Geraghty, said he and his client are pleased prosecutors finally recognized that her actions did not violate the law.

“Ms. Johnson sees this as the first step to restoring her tarnished reputation within the community,” Geraghty said in a statement.

In Maryland, one of the “clumsy quirks” of the law is that sex crimes against children might be handled differently depending on the identity of the perpetrator, said Adam Rosenberg, executive director of LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope.

The center provides intervention and prevention for child abuse, domestic violence and elder justice and offers online training about mandated reporting.

Rosenberg spoke in general terms about the law.

When the center conducts training about mandated reporting, Rosenberg said, it encourages people even if they have questions to contact police or Child Protective Services.

The professionals, he said, can then sort out the situation.

“These laws exist because we want to underscore the importance of mandated reporting,” Rosenberg said. “When in doubt, report it out.”