A Baltimore City school teacher was charged with second-degree rape Monday in connection with the case of a 12-year-old girl who went missing for a week.
Lewis M. Laury Jr., 24, was arrested by Baltimore County Police detectives with the Crimes Against Children Unit. He has also been charged with sexual offense in the third degree. The Banner is not identifying the girl because she is an alleged victim of a sexual crime.
The 12-year-old was found Thursday in Pikesville by law enforcement after she went missing for seven days. Social media was flooded with outreach for her and calls for her safe return, including from Maryland’s first lady Dawn Flythe Moore and Baltimore native Jada Pinkett Smith, the famed actress, singer and talk show host.
Detectives with the Crimes Against Children Unit worked with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and other law enforcement agencies to locate the child.
Charging documents show that phone records obtained during the search led to a phone number that was linked to Laury’s home address at Wychwood Court in Pikesville. U.S. Marshals responded to the home and found the child inside.
Laury was not at the location at the time the 12-year-old was found. She was taken to a nearby hospital for a medical evaluation and remained there as of Monday night, said her mother, Mia Brooks.
Brooks, 49, took to Meta’s Threads app Monday afternoon to thank all who shared posts to spread the word about her daughter’s absence. She also confirmed a man had been captured.
“I want to personally thank each person who shared the news to help find” her, the post said. “To all of my prayer warriors 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 Thank you for all of the calls, texts, and messages. The man has been captured by police!!! Please continue to pray and send positive energy this way.”
Brooks had last seen her daughter on June 20 before finding a note taped to the 12-year-old’s bedroom wall that said she would be going to Pennsylvania for a week. The note indicated that the minor would take the train to stay with a family Brooks had never heard of.
The girl was believed to have been talking to a man online via social media apps.
In an interview Monday, Brooks said that while she was “relieved” a suspect had been found, all that matters to her now is her child’s “long road ahead to recovery.”
“There are a lot of unknowns right now,” Brooks said, adding, “My family and I are just happy that my child is home.”
A LinkedIn account for Laury indicates that he has been working as a U.S. history teacher with Baltimore City Public Schools for the past two years. The account for the Towson University graduate also details internships with Baltimore City Hall and the Maryland General Assembly.
Laury also appeared to regularly update his Facebook profile through June 29. In a post on June 25, two days before the 12-year-old was located and as reports of a missing child circulated, Laury wrote, “I keep attracting females who fight demons ... God, I must be an exorcist ...” followed by three emoticons with a face of eyes watering, a face with spiral eyes and a face with a tear.
Laury is currently being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center.
