Former teacher indicted on two new counts of sexually abusing a minor

Trial had been set to begin this week; postponed to June 30

Ballmann was indicted by a county grand jury on Jan. 17 on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, five counts of sexual offense in the third-degree, one count of sexual solicitation of a minor, one count of exhibition of pornography to a minor, one count of manufacture or possession of a destructive device and seven counts of possession of visual representation of a child under 16 engaged in certain sexual acts.

In order to give the State’s Attorney’s Office and Stephen B. Mercer, Ballmann’s Rockville attorney, more time to prepare, the trial was rescheduled to June 30.

Mercer did not return a telephone call seeking comment by Gazette deadline.

Ballmann, a former teacher at Robert Frost Middle School, was indicted by a county grand jury on July 5 on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, three counts of sexual abuse in the third-degree, one count of sexual solicitation of a minor, one count of exhibition of pornography to a minor and two counts of manufacture or possession of a destructive device.

Ballmann was arrested May 2 at his home in the 11100 block of Cedarwood Drive and charged in connection to the alleged sexual abuse of a former Frost student. Police say that Ballmann abused the student on numerous occasions from spring 2004 to May 2005 at Ballmann’s residence. The student is now 16.

Ballmann paid bond at that time and was released.

On June 7, the county State’s Attorney’s Office filed a motion seeking to have the bond for that case revoked, citing new evidence. The motion was granted.

Ballmann was arrested that same day in the 81900 block of Falling Star Road in Germantown in connection to an alleged incident involving another student. Police say that Ballmann engaged in inappropriate sexual contact between 1995 and 1997 with a boy who was in the seventh and eighth grades at Westland Middle School in Bethesda at the time. The alleged victim is now 24 years old.

On July 16, a motions hearing was held in Circuit Court to determine if Ballmann could be released from jail before his criminal trial. The motion was denied.

About a month later, a status hearing and bond review was held in Circuit Court to determine if Ballmann could be released and whether the two cases could be consolidated into one, Donna Weaver, a spokeswoman for the State’s Attorney’s Office, said in a previous interview with The Gazette. Both motions were granted.

Weaver said Ballmann was released Aug. 20 on a $150,000 property bond but with several special conditions, including that Ballmann must wear an electronic monitoring device on his ankle.

Ballmann has been a bus driver for the Montgomery County school system, served as a substitute teacher, taught English and social studies at Westland, and taught English at Robert Frost until his first arrest, school system officials confirmed.

Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Kate Harrison said Monday afternoon that Ballmann submitted a letter of resignation in December and is no longer employed by the county school system.