Charge against former school board member dismissed

Prosecutor had filed charge using incorrect address for Thomas; county state’s attorney says sexual assault charge will be refiled within next two weeks

‘‘We’re an agency made up of human beings, and as human beings, we’re sometimes fallible,” said Ramon Korionoff, Ivey’s spokesman.

Judge Sean D. Wallace dismissed the case this morning at Prince George’s County Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro when Thomas’ Greenbelt-based attorney, Bruce L. Marcus, pointed out the error, Korionoff said. Prosecutors entered the wrong address for Thomas’ home, where the sexual offense allegedly happened.

‘‘My client is very gratified that this ordeal is over, and we certainly hope [prosecutors] would elect to make the appropriate decision and not re-institute any charges,” Marcus said Monday afternoon.

Thomas, 26, resigned from his at-large school board seat in June soon after being charged. The charge of sexual offense is applied when no coercion or force is involved. If convicted, Thomas would be placed on the state’s sex offender registry and could serve up to 10 years in prison.

Marcus and prosecutors had been scheduled to meet Monday morning at the Upper Marlboro courthouse to choose 12 jurors from a pool of 50 county residents. Opening arguments were expected to begin Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.

Thomas, who was elected to the board in November 2006, was accused of having sex with a 15-year-old Forestville Military Academy student at least three times at his District Heights home between August 2004 and October 2005.

In April, Thomas was found to have brought an 18-year-old county student to an education convention in San Francisco. The school board commissioned an independent investigation after they learned about the student’s trip last spring, resulting in a 36-page report that cited details of Thomas taking part in ‘‘sexually suggestive games” and alcohol consumption with underage county students.

From that report, investigators also learned about Thomas’ alleged relationship with the former 15-year-old student.

Ivey said the board’s report was a valuable tool in indicting Thomas. He called the report a ‘‘road map” for the grand jury investigation since it provided contacts and a rough timeline of the former teacher’s interaction with students, including information regarding the 15-year-old.

Thomas’ trial, originally scheduled for Oct. 12, was delayed a month after the court granted Marcus a continuance.

Korionoff said prosecutors would have to file paperwork and resubmit the charges in the next two weeks.

‘‘It’s certainly an important case to the community ... and we look forward to bringing this to trial,” he said.