Ex-Ravens cheerleader charged with rape makes no plea deal

James Fisher | USA TODAY Sports

A lawyer for Molly Shattuck, the former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader charged with the rape of a teenage boy in Bethany Beach, discussed her case with prosecutors in a Sussex courtroom Wednesday but said she has not altered her not-guilty plea.

Eugene Maurer, Shattuck's attorney, said her life is "stressful" while she is free on $84,000 bond in the case. He declined to discuss whether prosecutors have offered a plea deal to Shattuck.

Shattuck, 47, was indicted Nov. 5 in Sussex County on charges of third-degree rape, second-degree unlawful sexual contact and obtaining alcohol for a minor. Police, in court documents, said she initiated a relationship with a 15-year-old boy last summer, first contacting him on Instagram.

Over Labor Day weekend, police allege, Shattuck rented a Bethany Beach summer house for her own teenage son and his friends, one of whom was the boy she had already met for romantic encounters in the back seat of her SUV. Late at night, in a bedroom of the house, Shattuck performed oral sex on the boy, charging documents state. She offered to have sex with him, police said, but the boy declined.

Police who interviewed the boy later in September said he told them he had not seen Shattuck after that night.

Shattuck is a prominent person in Baltimore's upper crust. She is divorced from Mayo Shattuck III, a former Constellation Energy CEO, and she was made a member of the Ravens cheerleading squad in 2005.

The scheduled case review Wednesday was an opportunity for Shattuck's lawyers and prosecutor John Donahue to reach a plea deal, but Maurer said that didn't happen. Another case review is set for March 18.

After the case review, courthouse staff afforded Shattuck a courtesy they only rarely extend to victims and witnesses during trials, much less defendants. Two police officers unlocked a rear door, marked as a juror's entrance only, and let her leave, avoiding a dozen reporters and photographers from Delaware, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. who were waiting for her to leave by the front door, the only one available to the public.

Maurer had spent several minutes talking to officers stationed at the rear door before Shattuck used that exit.

"That would be me, and there's no comment," said a Delaware Capitol Police officer who identified himself as Lieut. Helsel when asked which courthouse employee gave Shattuck permission to use the rear door.

Former Ravens cheerleader, Molly Shattuck, returns to court Former Ravens cheerleader, Molly Shattuck, returned to court Wednesday for a hearing. She was indicted in November with having sex with a teenage boy and providing alcohol to minors. 1/7/15

James Fisher writes for The News Journal of Wilmington, Del.