A Montgomery County elementary school teacher from Dundalk who was charged with possession of child pornography has now been charged with child sexual abuse, police said.
Lawrence Wesley Joynes, 54, of the 1900 block of Ormand Road, is charged with 14 counts of sex abuse of a minor, third-degree sex offense, child abuse, and second-degree rape.
Baltimore County police charged Joynes in February with possession of child pornography after a search warrant found images and videos at his home and classroom.
Police in Montgomery County have since identified 15 female victims, 14 of which were Joynes' music class at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring starting in 2005 up until this year.
The victims were between kindergarten and second grade. Police said one victim is an adult who was abused for three years in the 1990s. Joynes has been charged with second-degree rape and child abuse in that case.
Police said Joynes inappropriately touched the girls and told them to make sexually suggestive gestures.
He has taught for Montgomery County schools for 27, including 10 years at New Hampshire Estates.
He is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center. His public defender, James Dills, declined to comment Tuesday
Montgomery County police are asking anyone who has been a victim of sex abuse by Joynes and has not reported it to call detectives at 240-773-5400.
jkanderson@baltsun.com ___
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