Perry Hall Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Four Students

Sean Allen Brooks turned a 9th-grade writing assignment into a selection tool for his victims. The Perry Hall High School health and physical education teacher, 40, of Bel Air, pleaded guilty in Baltimore County Circuit Court to sexually abusing four students he had groomed over nearly three years, exploiting vulnerabilities the children had disclosed on paper.

Brooks was convicted on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, fourth-degree sex offense, and second-degree assault. Under the terms of his plea, he faced a minimum of four years in prison and was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Sentencing was scheduled for September 21, 2025, before Judge Marsha L. Russell, who had previously denied Brooks bail after expressing concern about an authority figure facing allegations from multiple students spanning several years.

Charging documents detailed a calculated, multi-stage grooming strategy that Baltimore County Police Department detectives said matched every phase of a classic sexual predation cycle: victim selection, isolation, trust-building, desensitization to sexual content, and physical contact. Brooks, who had taught at Perry Hall since 2017, allegedly used the 9th-grade writing assignment to flag students who disclosed problems with their fathers, then worked to isolate those students in a private basement room at the school that charging documents described as "like a cellar." The alleged abuse ran from August 2022 to March 2025.

A Crimes Against Children Unit detective wrote in charging documents that Brooks "was escalating his behavior to potential rape of these victims given the opportunity." The psychological hold he maintained over students was reflected in a statement one victim gave investigators: she said she "was upset that she spoke up because now she won't be able to see [Brooks] every day."

Brooks was arrested June 11, 2025. That same day, Perry Hall Principal Abbey Campbell sent a letter to families stating, "These charges are deeply disturbing, and this alleged behavior is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated." BCPS placed Brooks on administrative leave and barred him from all district property. Assistant State's Attorney John Magee said the plea was structured to spare the four victims the additional trauma of testifying at trial, and confirmed that all of them understood and agreed with the offer. As part of the agreement, the Harford County State's Attorney's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office agreed not to pursue charges related to an additional girl.

The arrest came just two weeks after Roger Myers, 61, a gym teacher at Deep Creek Middle School in Essex who had worked for BCPS since 1996, was charged with sex offenses involving two students. Myers was subsequently indicted on 22 counts, including third- and fourth-degree sex offenses, second-degree assault, and sexual abuse of a minor. Two BCPS gym teachers charged at separate schools within a fortnight sharpened demands for systemic reform.

Those demands had already surfaced in a July 2024 report by the Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education, which found that BCPS lacked a clear definition of "grooming," had insufficient guidelines, and provided inadequate standardized training on background checks. In July 2025, Baltimore County Councilman David Marks introduced a resolution requesting state legislation to give county government oversight of BCPS, noting that the county's Inspector General's Office has no authority to investigate BCPS complaints even though the school system consumes more than half of Baltimore County's budget. The bill stalled in a senate delegation meeting by late August 2025.

BCPS requires all staff to complete child abuse and neglect training before each school year. That requirement did not prevent Brooks from abusing students for nearly three years in a basement room of his own school.