Group home counselor pleads guilty to sex abuse of one of her teenage charges

According to the terms of the agreement, her maximum sentence will be 18 months in jail. Lawrence had faced a possible sentence of 15 years if convicted, Weinstein said.

Lawrence was charged in January with one count of sex abuse of a minor involving a then 16-year-old boy at the MS Youth Services Group Home in Germantown. The abuse occurred between September and October 2006, when she was a counselor at the home, according to police charging documents.

Lawrence is one of two counselors at the group home arrested in January and charged with having a sexual relationship with the boy.

Lawrence’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 19, Assistant State’s Attorney Sherri Koch said. The state will seek the maximum 18-month sentence, she said.

Koreen Allen Avery, 38, of the 19300 block of Hottinger Circle in Germantown, the other group home counselor, is also charged with one count of sex abuse of a minor. Her trial is scheduled for Feb. 3 in Circuit Court.

Public defenders Theresa Chernosky and Vicki Tyler represented Lawrence. Tyler declined to comment after the hearing.

A long-term substitute teacher at Clarksburg High School was also initially accused of having sex with the boy, but all charges against her were dropped in May. The substitute teacher was fired and is no longer teaching in the county school system, according to Brian Edwards, spokesman for Montgomery County Public Schools.