Suspected Rapist Released, Can Attend Classes

The 16-year-old suspect, a Winston Churchill student, is charged with raping a 19-year-old woman in an incident caught on a courthouse camera. The woman later died.

By Andrew Metcalf

Montgomery County District Court in Rockville State of Maryland

UPDATED – 5:15 p.m. – A district court judge ruled last week that a 16-year-old rape suspect may attend classes while awaiting trial.

Marquiz Turner, 16, a Silver Spring boy who allegedly raped a 19-year-old woman June 12 in front of the Montgomery County Circuit Courthouse in Rockville—an incident that police said was caught on the court’s surveillance system—was released from jail on July 2 on $100,000 bail. As part of his release the judge ruled Turner could attend school. Turner is currently enrolled in a specialized program at Winston Churchill High School, according to his attorney.

However, he will not be attending summer courses there, according to Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig. Tofig said Wednesday Turner will not attend classes in a Montgomery County Public School. Tofig would not say where Turner would be educated due to privacy laws.

The judge ordered that Turner be confined to his Silver Spring home, under the supervision of his mother, but also be allowed to attend school, meet with his attorney and visit medical professionals. Turner is charged with second-degree rape. The woman in the incident died about two hours after the alleged rape as she was being transported to the hospital, according to police.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not ruled on the cause of the woman’s death, which remains under investigation, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The prosecutors in the case argued that Turner should be held on $1 million bail and described the case as a “brazen rape,” noting that Turner believed the woman owed him sex, according to court documents.

"As was said in court, because of the gravity of the charges alleged, he is a danger to others and should be kept behind bars," said Ramon Korionoff, the spokesman for the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, in an email to Bethesda Beat Wednesday.

In Turner’s motion for bond review, deputy district public defender Mary Siegfried wrote that Turner has an individualized education program that mandates an extended school year. As part of the program, Turner is expected to attend classes for three hours a day, five days a week this month. Turner is enrolled in the Bridge Program at Churchill High School, a special needs program, which traditionally serves children who are on the autism spectrum, according to Siegfried.

Tofig said in an email that privacy laws prevent the school system from commenting on a specific student.“However, in general, if a judge has ordered the release of a student while criminal charges are pending, and if MCPS is legally required to provide educational services to the student, we will do so in a way that proactively ensures the safety and security of all students,” Tofig wrote.

Siegfried also wrote in the motion that the woman and Turner had engaged in sexual acts before the courthouse incident and that she had been in a relationship with Turner for several months. The woman also reportedly sent emails and text messages to Turner about sex acts “she was contemplating performing” on Turner that evening, according to Siegfried.

Police said Turner and the woman had gone on a date June 12 at the Regal Cinemas in Rockville, a short walk from the courthouse. Around 11:40 p.m. a security guard at the court reportedly saw Turner force himself onto the woman. The security guard called police, who quickly responded and separated the two. The woman told police she tried to stop Turner and told him “no,” but he would not stop. Turner later told police during an interview that he believed the woman owed him a sexual favor because of the emails and text messages she sent before the date.

Turner was charged as an adult, but Siegfried wrote in the motion that she plans to ask that his case be transferred to juvenile court.