Former Charles substitute teacher sentenced to 15 years in prison for sex offenses

The state’s attorney for Charles County announced on April 15 Malcolm Fluellyn of Bryans Road, was sentenced to 46 years in prison, with all but 15 years suspended, for two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and six counts of fourth-degree sexual offense.

Fluellyn, 27, had entered a guilty plea on Feb. 26 to the charges.

After serving the 15 years in prison, he will be on supervised probation for five years upon release.

On Feb. 10, 2023, a Charles County Sheriff’s Office school resource officer at Gen. Smallwood Middle School reported that multiple students accused Fluellyn of inappropriately touching them.

An investigation of the allegations revealed that Fluellyn was working as a permanent substitute teacher at Smallwood Middle from December 2022 through February 2023.

Fluellyn allegedly inappropriately touched the victims, some on numerous occasions, at the school while he worked there. Additionally, he reached out to some of the victims on Instagram and made inappropriate sexual comments about their bodies, according to the Charles state’s attorney’s office.

The eight victims ranged in age between 12 and 13 years old.

Fluellyn was immediately fired from the school when school officials learned of the assaults, a letter from Charles public schools’ Superintendent Maria Navarro said.

In addition to his time at Smallwood Middle, Fluellyn served one day as a substitute at Matthew Henson Middle School in December 2022.

According to the sheriff’s office, no students at Henson Middle made any allegations.

The assistant state’s attorney assigned to the case told the judge at sentencing, “Members of this community, and any community, should be able to send their children to school without having to worry that an adult will sexually prey on them in any way. It’s just not acceptable.”

All school system employees, including substitute teachers, must undergo a thorough background screening and complete required training including courses on sexual harassment and child abuse. The school system also randomly screens all employees within three years to ensure current background checks are on file.