Schools

Wheaton Teacher Arrested for Sexual Abuse of Students

Benjamin Robert Cano, 33, teaches at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School.

A 33-year-old teacher at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School in Wheaton was arrested Wednesday, after two of his students reported that he had inappropriately touched them, Montgomery County police said in a news release.

Benjamin Robert Cano, 33, of the 200 block of Night Haven Court in Edgewater, is charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a minor and three counts of committing a third-degree sex offense. 

On May 17, county police detectives received information from an administrator at the middle school that two students had been inappropriately touched by their teacher, according to the release.

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Between May 20 and May 23, detectives met with the two 11-year-old girls, who said they had been inappropriately touched by Cano, police said. The two girls also said that a third student, a 12-year-old girl, had also been inappropriately touched by Cano, the release said.

Police said that between August 2012 and last month, Cano touched all three victims inappropriately at the school during school hours.

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Detectives believe that there may be additional students who may have been victims of inappropriate touching by Cano.

Police are urging parents to speak with their children if they may have been in Cano's presence, and to contact police if their children say that any inappropriate conduct occurred. Detectives can be reached at 240-773-5400.


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