Howard County after-care worker charged with child sexual abuse

An employee of a preschool in Woodbine has been charged with child sexual abuse, according to Howard County police.

Dameon Patterson of Elkridge, 31, who police said has worked at Glenwood Country Day School for about two years, faces multiple counts of sex offenses related to contact with an 11-year-old child.

The victim in the case told a friend about the alleged abuse last week. The friend then told a “trusted adult,” who shared the information with police. Detectives then launched an investigation, which led to Patterson’s arrest late Thursday, county police said in a statement.

The child reported that the abuse occurred over a period of two years, police said, when she was between 9 and 11 years old, with the most recent incident taking place in the summer of 2023.

Patterson has been working in pre- and after-school care programs at Glenwood Country Day since 2021, according to police, and his work involved working in summer camps and taking children on trips.

Charges against him include second-degree rape, sexual abuse of a minor, and a third-degree sexual offense, according to public records.

Investigators have learned the facility, a small private school for children between 2 and 6 years old that also hosts a daycare for Howard County elementary school children, has been shut down since January 5 for a state licensing violation.

Detectives are asking anyone with information, including other children who may have been victimized by Patterson, to contact police at 410-313-STOP or HCPDcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov.