School volunteer charged with child sex abuse

GREENBELT, Md. -- The 22-year-old volunteer school aide with the blond streak in his Afro told students at a suburban Maryland elementary school they were part of a special club. According to prosecutors, Deonte Carraway pulled children out of classrooms in the middle of the day and made smartphone videos of them having sex with him and each other on school property.

Carraway is facing child pornography charges that could put him in prison for the rest of his life, Maryland federal prosecutor Rod Rosenstein said at a news conference Tuesday. The charges mark the latest development in a sex-abuse scandal that has shaken parents' faith in Prince George's County school administrators.

According to police, Carraway is known to have victimized at least 17 children, ranging in age from 9 to 13. In addition to Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School in Glenarden, where he stocked shelves in the library and directed an unofficial school choir, he also abused children at a church, a pool, a community center and several homes, Prince George's County police said.

Two lawsuits, including a class-action complaint, have been filed against the school system. According to the complaints, the school's principal, Michelle Williams -- who was placed on leave after Carraway's arrest earlier this month -- didn't follow up on reports by parents and teachers of predatory behavior by Carraway.