Former Jefferson school employee sentenced to six years for sexual abuse of student

Frederick News-Post - 12/20/2019

Dec. 20--A former employee of the Jefferson School in Frederick County was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday for sexually abusing a 17-year-old student who also lived in the private school's residential treatment center last year.

John Randolph Gordon, 66, of the 2100 block of Wainwright Court in Frederick, was charged in April with two counts of sexually abusing a minor, a single count of second-degree assault and two different counts of committing a fourth-degree sex offense, including the inappropriate sexual contact by a person in a position of authority, according to court records.

Gordon eventually pleaded guilty to a single count of the sex abuse of a minor, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 25 years, according to court records and state law.

With the aid of a walker and accompanied by relatives and loved ones, Gordon appeared unsteady on his feet as he entered the courtroom Thursday to sit before Frederick County Circuit Court Judge Scott Rolle. Pointing out his client's apparent frailty, Tae Kim, Gordon's defense attorney, appealed to Rolle for mercy, reminding the judge that this was Gordon's only offense in a long and otherwise law-abiding life and asking for a sentence that would enable Gordon some chance to spend the last years of his life with his family.

Assistant State's Attorney Tammy Leache, on the other hand, drove home the point that Gordon's offense, while seemingly solitary, was a serious crime made even worse by the fact that Gordon used his position of authority as an employee of the the school to carry out the abuse.

Speaking for himself, Gordon apologized for his conduct, never explicitly asking the judge's leniency but suggesting that his offenses weighed heavily on him and that he recognized the serious impact they likely had on the victim and others.

"I would like to say that I'm sorry for what I did. I'm apologizing to the victim and I'd like to apologize to my family for putting them through this," Gordon said. "I know it's stressful and I can't handle it, but I have to."

Deferring to the judge, Leache asked for a sentence between four and nine years, while Kim asked specifically for Rolle to consider a six-year sentence followed by any term of probation Rolle felt was justified. Rolle's sentence seemed to meet both suggestions, leveling a 25-year sentence on Gordon, all but six years of which Rolle suspended. The judge also ordered Gordon to serve three years on supervised probation following his release, during which time he must refrain from consuming alcohol or illegal drugs, submit to Internet supervision and have no unsupervised contact with any minors, among other conditions. Gordon would also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

If Gordon is released and violates the terms of his probation, he could be sentenced to serve the remainder of his 25-year sentence.

Gordon's arrest in April was the first in a slew of misconduct cases to emerge from the Jefferson School, a private special education school and residential treatment center for young people with emotional and behavioral disabilities.

Following Gordon's arrest, three more employees of the school, Jermaine Dontay Thomas, Ariel Carrine-Krieman Eppard and Wesley Jerome Dean were arrested in September with various offenses related to the sexual abuse of students and residents at the private school. While similar in nature, Gordon's acts have not been linked to the crimes alleged against the others.

Follow Jeremy Arias on Twitter: @Jarias_Prime

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