Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, and five other Democrats representing the county are calling on Charles “Chuck” Yocum to drop out of the race for school board, saying that prior allegations of sexual abuse and harassment disqualify him from holding office.

Pittman, along with County Councilwoman Allison Pickard, Del. Dana Jones and two state senators, Dawn Gile and Sarah Elfreth, who is running for the 3rd Congressional District, said they were troubled by reports in The Baltimore Banner.

“I am deeply disturbed by the Baltimore Banner’s new reporting that Chuck Yocum faced charges of child sexual abuse, and that an extensive internal investigation by AACPS found even more claims that he sexually harassed students,” Pittman wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The Maryland Democratic Party joined the politicians in their assertions that Yocum is not fit to serve.

But the party also asked LaToya Nkongolo and Dawn Pulliam, whom it says have campaigned closely with Yocum for board seats, to demand he leave the race. “Anything short of that condones this behavior,” the party said in a statement.

Advance Maryland, a progressive advocacy group, and three unions representing county employees also called for Yocum to drop out. The teacher’s union, the union representing secretaries and assistants and AFSCME Local 1693, issued a statement saying confidence in the board’s decisions is based on trust that members have the best interests of students and staff at heart.

Yocum could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Banner reported on Tuesday that Yocum was charged 30 years ago with child sexual abuse and removed from his teaching position at Northeast High School over those and other accusations.

Though Yocum, 61, of Pasadena, was found not guilty in 1994, Anne Arundel County Public Schools had enough concerns that the system launched an extensive internal investigation.

The investigation turned up more claims that Yocum sexually harassed or made inappropriate comments to students as young as 13. He never went back to teaching.

In an email earlier this week, Yocum categorically denied the accusations.

Pittman said Yocum should not return to the school system “for the safety and well-being of our children.”

Elfreth said she is concerned that survivors continue to experience trauma as a result of Yocum’s alleged actions.

“My heart breaks at the way our system failed these children 30 years ago,” Elfreth said, adding that the allegations, as well as the details of the internal investigation and firsthand testimony, should disqualify him.

Jones asked voters to reject him at the polls.

Though school board races are supposed to be nonpartisan, Yocum has often expressed views aligned with the Republicans, who have so far been silent on whether he should drop out.

The Banner spoke with two of Yocum’s former students. The first, whose allegations led to his arrest and trial, said she stands by her story. The second asserted that Yocum propositioned her to engage in sex acts and wrote her explicit notes, a claim that law enforcement investigated. No charges were filed.

“The allegations against Mr. Yocum present a significant dilemma for school officials,” according to the internal investigative report, which The Banner reviewed but has never been made public.

“Mr. Yocum was found not guilty of sexual child abuse in a criminal court. This investigation, however, reviewed additional allegations against Mr. Yocum which were not criminal behaviors but possibly indicative of misconduct or immorality.”

Yocum is running against Erica McFarland in District 3, which includes Pasadena and Gibson Island. The teacher’s union has endorsed her.

He has also drawn criticism from the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County and the Parental Alliance for Student Safety for using words in long political ramblings on Facebook to describe women including “bitch,” “slut” and “whore.” That’s along with using the term “retard.”

Yocum said in an email this week that he didn’t use the term “retard” in a derogatory way to describe someone with disabilities — and pointed out that it has several definitions.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.