A special education teacher at a Capitol Hill elementary school was released from custody Friday, a day after he was arrested and charged by D.C. police in the sexual abuse of a 9-year-old boy under his care.
Leroy Damien Ware, 33, of Northeast Washington was ordered to stay away from the boy and barred from unsupervised contact with children younger than 16. He has a court hearing scheduled for March 3.
Ware taught at Miner Elementary School in the 600 block of 15th Street NE. He was first hired there in 2009, according to the school system, and resigned in 2011. He was rehired in February 2014. He has been placed on leave.
The school’s principal, Anne Evans, sent a letter home to parents Friday that said that “the safety of our students is always paramount and our top priority.” She wrote that school officials immediately notified police of the complaint. “Like you, I am deeply upset about these allegations,” she said in the letter. “We are all shocked and concerned.”
According to the arrest affidavit, the child told his mother about the allegations on Jan. 27 and said at least one of the two alleged incidents occurred between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The boy’s mother then notified the school. In both instances, the fourth-grader told police that Ware touched him inappropriately, once while playing a game during recess and again in a computer lab.
The police affidavit said that Ware voluntarily talked with D.C. police Mondayand told them that at least one of the alleged incidents was to correct the student’s behavior.
Keith L. Alexander contributed to this report.