Community responds to Berlin Activities Depot employee charged with Second- degree child abuse
Berlin, Md. – The Berlin Activities Depot is under scrutiny after an employee was charged with child abuse. This comes after another employee, was convicted of child abuse earlier this year. August 27, 2024, 57-year-old Lionel Evans was charged with 2nd-degree child abuse and 2nd-degree assault.
This situation has the local community torn in two. On social media, many parents call for the close of the Depot and say this is 2 times too many. On the other hand, over a dozen parents say while all of them are against child abuse of any kind, they believe Evans’ case may not be the same situation.
Gymnastics coach Lionel Evans is accused of assaulting a four-year-old. Official charging documents say the child was not listening and ran away, and that’s when Evans grabbed the child by the neck, injuring him. It’s a claim disputed by the Depot, who says the child tripped and fell when he ran away.
Parent Jordanne says she watched surveillance video shown by the Berlin Activities depot of the incident in question and says it differs tremendously from the police report. “I hope that this video, the video footage that they are claiming is child abuse, I hope that it gets out… When I viewed the video in this case, I saw an entirely normal interaction… The charging documents and their description of what they saw in the video, it was just a blatant misrepresentation of what I saw in the video.”
Owner Carmella Solito, who didn’t want to appear on camera, had this to say, “We have been a trusted part of this community for 20 years, consistently prioritizing the wellbeing of every child in our care. We do not and will never condone any form child mistreatment. We want to thank our community for their continued trust and support during these challenging times as we move forward.”
Depot parent Alina hopes the video comes out and shows what she says is the truth. I actually had a conversation with Lionel, where I came to him and said, ‘Listen, you are too soft on my child.”… He said, ‘I’m not here to discipline the children, to hurt them, or be aggressive to get the goal we need. I want them to love gymnastics.”
Ultimately this case is up to courts now, and while some parents are concerned about safety within the Depot, others like Jordanne suggest this was an attack on a small business, “Say I took your phone and to get it back I literally just grabbed it back. That could be a 2nd degree assault charge, and then when it’s a kid it’s automatically a child abuse. So, I mean, the bar is not very high. And I don’t’ think this case would ever be pursued if it weren’t for the events with the Heather Ward case.”
The family, who wants to remain anonymous, say their son is ok, but they were unhappy that they didn’t get a straight answer from the center. They also maintain that the video in question should’ve only been shown to investigators not parents. Berlin Police are handling the case, but they say they are not making an official statement on the investigation. As for Evans, he’s due in court at the end of next month for a preliminary hearing.
