THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, December 4, 2013 r
Page A-3
LOCAL
Former Rockville elementary school teacher Brazilian investment company starts its is sentenced to probation for alleged abuse U.S. base in Rockville Initially charged with sex abuse, Krupica pleads guilty to assault n
BY ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER
A former Montgomery County elementary school teacher accused of inappropriately touching four of his elementary school students pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree assault. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Richard E. Jordan sentenced Timothy V. Krupica to three years in jail for each count, but suspended all of the time. He also ordered Krupica to serve three years of supervised probation, and forbade him from teaching anyone under 16. He said the sentence would serve as “sufficient notice” for Krupica to not repeat his actions. In February 2013, Montgomery County police arrested Krupica, then a teacher at Meadow Hall Elementary School in Rockville, and charged him with innappropriately touching two girls. Two months later, police
rearrested Krupica and charged him with similar charges after new allegations from two other students surfaced. The girls were all 11 years old. The alleged abuse took place in his classroom while other students were present. Krupica’s arrest and the charges against him sent reverberations through the small community of Meadow Hall parents, with many siding with him and against his accusers. In court on Monday, Jeffrey Harding, Krupica’s attorney, referenced hundreds of emails and letters that he had received from Krupica’s supporters, dozens of whom were in court Monday. They, along with the parents of the accusers, declined to speak to reporters after the hearing. Krupica originally faced more than a dozen charges, including child abuse, fourth-degree sex offenses and sex abuse of a minor. Before an audience packed with his parents — both former schoolteachers — family, and other supporters, Krupica pleaded guilty to the four second-degree assault charges he faced, which encompassed “unconsented touching.” However, parents of two of the victims spoke in court, de-
scribing the effect the case has had on their daughters. One mother said that her daughter “couldn’t sleep — she had nightmares,” and had to see a therapist. She said she believed that Krupica, “was grooming these kids to see what else he could get away with.” When Jordan asked her what she believed would be a just sentence, she said, “I think he should never ever be permitted to be around children again ...” Another mother said Krupica’s actions “changed an entire community.” The Gazette is not identifying the mothers who spoke in the hearing to protect the identity of their daughters. Before sentencing Krupica, Jordan acknowledged the divisions the case had created, and the difficulty to know exactly what happened. “I can only deal with what I have in front of me at this point,” he said, referring to a doctor’s evaluation of Krupica, which showed he did not have pedophilic tendencies and prosecutor’s recomendation that he not receive jailtime. When given the chance to speak, Krupica thanked his family and friends for their support,
but said little else. He has given up teaching, Harding said. “He doesn’t intend to [teach] ever again,” Harding said, adding that Krupica has been trying to get a job with the National Forest Service. Krupica had been living in Maryland, but has since moved back to West Virginia, where his family is from. Harding asked for probation before judgment, which would have allowed Krupica to avoid having a conviction on his record. Harding also asked for Krupica to receive unsupervised probation. “This is a person who I don’t think needs to be supervised by anybody,” he said in court, noting that Krupica had no prior record. Harding said he would be filing for a motion asking Jordan to reconsider his sentence at a future date. Montgomery County Public School officials declined to comment on Krupica’s plea and sentencing, as did a former Meadow Hall PTA member. sjbsmith@gazette.net
Shoppers and some companies find deals during Cyber Monday n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
An investment business formed by Brazil’s largest pharmaceutical company has opened its U.S. headquarters in Rockville and plans to invest $200 million in operations, state officials said Tuesday. The announcement came as Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is leading a trade mission in Brazil this week. The delegation, which includes representatives of Bethesda defense giant Lockheed Martin and Germantown weather monitoring company Earth Networks, also plans to visit El Salvador on Sunday and Monday. Last year, Brazil was Maryland’s 11th-largest export market, with exports increasing 15 percent from 2011 to $308 million. The Port of Baltimore last year exported 1.4 million tons of goods to Brazil. Brace Pharmaceuticals, an investment company created by EMS S.A., has three employees in the Rockville
Some speculated in 2006 that O’Malley would offer appointment in administration n
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
When it comes to Cyber Monday — which has stretched to Cyber Week — some company executives get concerned that workers are spending too much time on the job hunting for online bargains. But not Robert Epstein, president and CEO of AboutWeb. In fact, the Rockville information technology company, which focuses on Web application development, mobile applications and system integration and design, had its employees searching for deals on laptops and other electronic products for the company itself to purchase Monday. “It’s a great opportunity for us,” Epstein said. “We find the prices are really good on this day.” AboutWeb doesn’t put out an edict to its 85 employees in Rockville, Baltimore and Vienna, Va., to limit surfing for deals to work breaks or when work is done. “Our employees are professionals. I don’t micromanage people,” Epstein said. “We aren’t really a 9-to-5 type of work environment. They might be working late, and if they want to take a break to do some online shopping, that’s fine. It’s the end result that counts.” Ben Landers, CEO of Blue Corona, a 36-employee Gaithersburg business that provides online marketing, Web design, marketing analytics and other services, has a similar philosophy. “I don’t police it,” he said. “We have some retail clients in e-commerce, so we ask employees to look at what other companies are doing in this area in case there is something that might be beneficial to our clients.” Employees are busy enough, especially those taking care of retail clients, that Landers doubts many have much time to shop at work. “We trust them to police themselves because their bonus depends a lot on their output,” he said. “One of our core values is to have employees who act like owners. We have great employees who understand and follow that mantra.” More than 131 million Americans were expected to shop online Advertisement
$200 million to be invested locally
Innovation Center, a publicly funded facility that helps young companies grow. Brace invests in the research and development efforts of pharmaceutical companies, including Baltimore-based Gliknik. The Maryland trade delegation visited EMS’ headquarters near Sao Paulo. A key reason to form Brace’s national base in Rockville was the top-flight life sciences community in the area, a company executive said in a statement. O’Malley also announced that DK Diagnostics, a Sao Paulo biotechnology company, plans to invest $1 million in operations in the state and grow to 20 employees over the next two years. The company, which manufactures and markets a parasite testing kit, has four employees in Frederick. “It is our goal to become an export company to NAFTA’s market from our plant in Maryland,” Jose Carlos Lapenna, DK Diagnostics president and CEO, said in a statement. kshay@gazette.net
Giammo is appointed to State Board of Education
Rockville business had employees looking for good buys BY
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KEVIN SHAY/THE GAZETTE
Customers line up outside Wal-Mart in Germantown on Thanksgiving evening to vie for Black Friday specials such as high-definition television sets and video games.
during Cyber Monday, up from 129 million a year ago, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation. About 25 million people — some 19 percent of respondents to the survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics — said they would use a mobile device to shop on Monday. That was was up 22 percent from a year ago. Some 43 percent of respondents said they would shop first thing in the morning before work and 19 percent over their lunch hour. About one-third said they would shop in the early afternoon. Customer traffic — at brick-and-mortar stores — on Thanksgiving Day, which featured Black Friday sales, reached 45 million, about 10 million more than the same day in 2012, according to the retail federation survey. About 3 million more shoppers went out on Friday than last year. The Wal-Mart store in Germantown set up gates to herd people through the line at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Tensions flared when some people cut in line, but there were no reports over people fighting over items such as towels, as reported in some areas of the country. Wal-Mart saw more than 22 million customers on Thanksgiving Day in its U.S. stores, more than last year, according to a company release. Among top sellers were big screen television sets, iPad minis, laptops, video games and systems, and towels. kshay@gazette.net
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
Former Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo has been appointed to the State Board of Education. Gov. Martin O’Malley announced the appointment in a press release Tuesday. Giammo served as Rockville mayor from 2001 to 2007 and on the city Planning Commission from 1996 to 2001. He is the executive director of Green Giammo America and former co-founder and CEO of Rockville-based Property Tax Pros, according to the news release. He has bachelor’s degree in economics and finance
from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University. O’Malley said in a statement that Giammo’s knowledge of economics and his background as an entrepreneur and elected official will help the board prepare students to compete in a modern global marketplace. Giammo endorsed O’Malley in 2006, The Gazette reported, when O’Malley was running against then-County Executive Douglas M. Duncan for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. After O’Malley was elected as governor, some speculated that he would offer Giammo a spot in his administration, The Gazette reported at the time. In 2007, Giammo cochaired O’Malley’s transition workgroup evaluating the state Department of Planning, but withdrew his name from consideration for secretary of the Department of Planning. ewaibel@gazette.net
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