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Over the weekend, a spokesperson for the agency announced that three 13-year-old students at Plum Point Middle School have been charged as juveniles with harassment and violations of Maryland’s hate crimes statutes.
According to charging documents, the students displayed swastikas, made Nazi salutes, and directed offensive comments to a classmate because of the classmate’s religious beliefs.
The behavior went on for months, despite the girl's protestations.
Investigators say that it began in December, and continued for several months, despite repeated requests to stop that ultimately led her to report the situation to Maryland State Police, who investigated and filed charges against the troublesome trio.
"Maryland was founded on the principle of religious toleration," Calvert County State's Attorney Robert Harvey said. "It is frankly astonishing that nearly 400 years later some people continue to persecute others based upon their religion.
"I call upon parents, educators, and community and faith leaders to make sure that our children know that religious persecution has no place in our society.”
The three teens have been charged as juveniles with harassment. Those charges will now be forwarded to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, which has the discretion to refer the charges to the Calvert County Circuit Court.
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