Mountain ridge high school band director indicted on sex abuse charges

Mountain Ridge High School band director indicted on sex abuse charges

by
June 26, 2025
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FROSTBURG, Md. — Derek Lindon Shank, 43, the band director at Mountain Ridge High School, has been indicted by an Allegany County Grand Jury following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with a student, authorities announced.

The investigation was launched March 6, 2025, after the Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigations Unit (C3I) and the Frostburg Police Department received an anonymous tip regarding Shank’s alleged behavior. Investigators executed multiple search and seizure warrants and conducted several interviews as part of the probe.

Upon reviewing the findings, the Allegany County State’s Attorney’s Office presented the case to the grand jury, which returned an indictment charging Shank with one count of second-degree assault, one count of sexual abuse of a minor, and one count of attempted fourth-degree sex offense.

Shank served with charges, awaits court proceedings

Shank, a resident of LaVale, was officially served with the charges on Monday, June 23. He will now await judicial proceedings in the Circuit Court for Allegany County.

No further details have been released, as the case remains an active legal matter.

Phil Stilton

Phil Stilton

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