WASHINGTON 鈥� The two students charged with the violent rape of a fellow Rockville High School student last week had no criminal records and hadn鈥檛 previously been suspended from school, the superintendent and a police captain said on Tuesday.
The two suspects 鈥� 18-year-old Henry Sanchez-Milian and 17-year-old Jose Montano 鈥� had not had any previous contact with the Police Department as suspects, victims or in any other capacity, said Montgomery County police Capt. James Humphreys at a news conference.
Dr. Jack Smith, Montgomery County Public School superintendent, added that they hadn鈥檛 previously been suspended from school.
On March 16,聽Sanchez-Milian and Montano in a bathroom at the school.聽Sanchez-Milian and Montano聽have been charged with first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sexual offense.
Smith said that the suspects and the girl had no classes together. Humphreys said the victim and one of the suspects knew each other, but couldn鈥檛 say whether the attack was random.
Smith said that the rape last Thursday at the school was 鈥渁 horrible thing for the young woman to have experienced.鈥� He added that the school system would offer her 鈥渁 great deal of support鈥� and that officials were 鈥渧ery interested in reviewing all the things we do now to make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.鈥�
Smith said there are five security people and a school resource officer at Rockville High School.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to look at everything鈥� in the school鈥檚 safety plan and 鈥渕ake sure we鈥檝e covered any gaps,鈥� Smith said.
He said repeatedly, however, that the fact that one of the suspects was evidently in the country illegally had no bearing on how the school system treated him, and that the incident wouldn鈥檛 change the school system鈥檚 policy on such students going forward.
A determined Sanchez-Milian had entered the country illegally from Mexico, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Matthew Bourke said in a statement. Bourke could provide no information about Montano鈥檚 status because he is a minor.
The rape has reverberated outside Rockville. In his daily briefing, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said of the case, “I think part of the reason that the president has made illegal immigration and crackdown such a big deal is because of tragedies like this,” Spicer said.
On Facebook Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he was 鈥渃alling on Montgomery County to immediately and fully cooperate with all federal authorities.”
Smith said the public school system serves all the students that come to it.
鈥淚t is not only the right thing to do and the good thing to do 鈥� it鈥檚 also the law of the land,鈥� Smith added, citing Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 Supreme Court case that struck down a state law denying funding for education for children in the country illegally.
The difference in the students鈥� ages, Smith said, was not uncommon in a high school. In 37 years in education, he said, he鈥檇 seen many students of different ages working together.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e in the same band class. They鈥檙e in the same world language class. They鈥檙e in the same play[s] after school,鈥� he said.
He added that the suspects were technically ninth graders as well as the victim because they were coming to the school system for the first time. Asked whether older students could be screened and placed in alternate settings, such as night school, Smith said, 鈥淐ertainly we will take a good hard look at how we place students.鈥�
Smith said most of the communications to himself and the school board were from 鈥渃oncerned parents,鈥� but he鈥檇 also received some 鈥渞acist, hate-filled鈥� messages.
鈥淭hat is not the community I moved to last summer, and that is not the community I want to live in,鈥� he said.
Asked whether there had been any blowback against immigrant students from other students on county schools, Smith said, 鈥淣o incidents [have been] reported at all, but we鈥檙e certainly keeping a close eye on it.鈥�
草莓传媒’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
