tonight school officials tell us that john epps jr. worked at more than 50 schools. >> we have learned he was at a ot of other schools. in june niker middle and he was at a lot of schools all over montgomery county. >> 44-year-old john epps jr. spent time in 50 schools since may. >> parents are concerned. >> 58 schools than that is a lot of opportunities. >> he was accused of grabbing multiple women. it was one month ago he allegedly grabbed the behind of a 12-year-old student. >> he just stuck his hand out and i turned around and he was already up the stairs. >> the school system didn't tell parents for nearly a month until abc 7 broke the story. epps is also accused of inappropriately touching a damascus high student. his contracting job maintaining school security cameras took him to 58 different schools in six movepts. they are -- months. they are all over schools in montgomery county. some schools he was at for multiple days. >> it is terrifying. >> she had two daughters when epps was there two days in june. >> you to just pray an

turns out the worker john epps had a criminal record, something a background check by the company that hired him somehow missed. epps is now charged with fourth degree sex assault and second degree assault. [ cheering and applause ] >>> thank you, governor. thank you, congressmen. most importantly, thank you, virginia! >> that was virginia senator mark warner claiming victory in a state's too close to call u.s. senate race last night and tonight he's still ahead by less than a percentage point with gop challenger ed gillespie raising the possibility of a recount. the two were separated by a mere 13,000 votes out of 2 million cast. in virginia the loser can ask for a recount if the margin is less than 1% of the total number of votes. however, the state will only pay for the recount if the margin falls below 1/2 of 1% of the votes. if a recount happens, it will not go underway until the votes are certified which could take until the end of november. >>> virginia's u.s. senate seat is one of three still up for grabs tonight, but the balance of power has shifted officially giving republica

to monterey county officials, on october 6, a contractor working at the school of identified as john epps jr., allegedly groped a 12-year-old in a hallway, the parents did not get this note until monday. >> they handled this unacceptably. everyone in the community feels this way. >> we are validating your concerns. that is number one. number two, a decision was made, now we have to figure out how to work together to move forward. >> the principal told parents school officials were trying to protect the identity of the victim and the ongoing investigation, but parents we spoke with feel they should have been told, especially when police told the parents this morning that they are looking into the possibility there may be another victim at another school. the principal told parents there were some lessons learned as a result of this. school officials say they will follow-up with another letter of any new developments and any answers to additional questions parents might have. in damascus, brianne carter, abc 7 news. >> brand-new developments on that abduction caught on camera in philadelphi

. >> they say it took officials weeks to inform them that john epps junior, a contractor at baker middleused of touching a female student inappropriately. it turned out epps works in nearly 60 county schools. >> when are you actually going to answer the question, why it took you a month to let us know what happened? >> school officials said they did not send out a letter to parents to prevent further embarrassment to the victim. they do not by that logic. >> this should not have been covered up. >> the alleged incident happened october 6th. parents heard about it november story.an abc 7 the principal claims herself for communicating poorly. of theuse [indiscernible] >> they are concerned that the school system is more concerned about face-saving than communicating with parents. >> we messed up >> in another development, parents were shocked to find out at the meeting tonight that right now contracted employees, subcontractors working in montgomery county schools are not required to undergo background checks. the superintendent is concerned about the policy and wants it changed as soon as

katie nelson takes you >> we have mau details on a allegational assault against john epps jr. the contract worker accused of a 12-year-old girl. in an e-mail to parents the principal of the high school said they are investigating touched other students today parents blasted response.'s >> not one question have you answered. the arrest that happened immediately the next day that this is something that we need to do better as a system. eppsday we found out that received probation for assaulting two women at a pharmacy four years ago. know how he got a job working beside children. the school said it will provide some answers at a community meeting next tuesday. >> new at 11:00. thear-studded night at smithsonian for the premier of of interstellar and all of the big stars were there. is tommy mcfly with his take. got to be the pirate that takes us out there further than we have bon. >> do you plan to leave earth? on it.n't plan >> if you go with the characters thehe film and relationships you will enjoy it. and then if you get some science on top of that, great but you to understa

police arrested 44-year-old john epps, a contract employee and charged him with sex assault. tonight they are apologizing for not sending a letter home until nearly a month later. >> i'm sorry. that was wrong. that definitely was a mistake. >> according to these documents he was working on security cameras reached out and made a unsolicited and unwanted touch to a 12-year-old girl. security cameras caught him doing it. in a separate case a 17-year-old high school student who was at baker middle for an activity around the same time claims he also inappropriately touched her. he worked at 50 montgomery county schools. tonight a letter was released requesting back ground checks for all contractor employees. >> the principal realizes there is a need to rebuild trust with the community. >> montgomery county schools will not recognize religious holidays next year. the school board voted to remove the names of christian and jewish holidays from the school calendar after the muslim community petitioned to have their holiday recognized by the district, to be fair the board decided to

she is angry about the total lack of transparency on the part of the school, especially acause john epps, jr., has record of criminal assault. >> he could have done this to many more kids. abuseent and sex therapist jennifer alvarez says that this is just the latest sweeping thishool case under the rug. >> who do you think they're protecting? >> themselves. themselves. they are not protected the kids. , jr., is seen here with his wife and would not return our calls. the school says they failed to do an independent background check on the husband and father of two. they have not said how many other schools he works at or was allowed to roam through. news.evin lewis, abc 7 >> a prince george's county corporal is charged with a dui. drivingay she was not at apartment vehicle at the time of the arrest. she was with that apartment for eight years and has been assigned to the bureau of patrol. and crowds took part in the first part of the halloween crawl approved by city guidelines. to thewls were added city's special offense -- events ordinances. .till ahead, right here tragedy near a univers

john epps was working on school security cameras in baker middle school in damascus and inappropriately touched a 12-year-old girl. according to the letter, there may be more allegations. so far, no charges filed in that incident. >>> a prince george's county man will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend. a judge sentenced him to life, plus ten years for the murder of amber. investigators say he was depressed over the couple's break up and he snuck in her home and slashed her throat. her family says the jury made the right decision. >> god inserted his wisdom to see through the charades the defense was trying to put up. they saw through all that and came to the only logical conclusion there was. >> he claims he does not remember what happened and denies the charges. he addressed her family saying my deepest condolences to everybody, i love you all. >>> christmas is seven weeks away. we are getting into peak season for package thieves. they are casing homes in the area. we spokeith a couple who saw it firsthand. >>reporter: he was watching tv and within two

police arrested 44-year-old john epps, a contract employee charged with sex assault, accused of inappropriatelytudent back in october. parents found out several weeks >> when are you actually going to answer the question why it took you a month to let us know what happened? >> that was wrong. that was wrong. that was a mistake. >> in a separate case, a 17-year-old student says epp also inappropriately touched her visited the campus around the same time. another meeting set for november 30th. epps was arrested four years ago in anne arundel county on similar charges. dr. joshua starr is requesting background checks for all contractors. in a letter starr says the school system is reviewing its internal procedures to make sure any allegations like this are appropriately reported, investigated and communicated with the community. >>> today the man convicted of killing chandra levy is back in court. he was sentenced to 60 years in prison after his conviction in 2010. defense lawyers are questioning the testimony of a key prosecution witness. morales said he confessed while in prison. >> the supreme

. >> reporter: the suspect, 44-year-old john epps, they say a private contractor working on school security cameras, school security cameras recorded the incident. court documents say epps reached out with his left hand and made an unsolicited and unwanted touching of a juvenile. according to a school leader there is another allegation epps may have inappropriately touched a damascus high school student when that 17-year-old was at baker middle school for an activity there. so far, no charges have been filed. police are investigating. >> it's horrible. we find out about it. the information gets released and within day or two another student comes forward saying there's a possibility this happened to them. that kid has been living with this for over a month. >> reporter: and there's more. according to court records, four years ago, epps was charged with inappropriately touching a woman inside a cvs. that case is still on the books down there. live in damascus, pat collins, news4. >> thank you, pat. >>> we're trying to find out how many prince george's county students were forced to stay home

police arrested 44-year-old john epps, a contract employee charged with sex assault, accused of inappropriatelya student back in october. parents found out several weeks later. >>> congress is back at work for the first time since the midterm elections. topping the ambitious agenda, lawmakers will hold a hearing on the government's handling of the ebola crisis. cdc director is set to testify before the senate appropriations committee. this is the first case in the senate since the first ebola case was diagnosed in dallas. nurses at providence hospital will hit the picket lines. the hospital will remain open despite the strike. it is a national day of action to bring attention to what the nurses union call lack of ebola preparedness. providence said it is disappointed with the strike. they will hire temporary nurse toss fill in. >>> heads-up if you work for the city of alexandria and you want chips or soda for lunch. all vending machines are being filled with healthy options, including fresh truth and vegetables. tracie potts tweeted and said, not the honey buns. >> people said we avoid the vend

epps to the latest allegation. they say they're investigating and the principal of john t. booker middle school says she apologizes for waiting so long to send that letter. in damascus, maryland, debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> the breaking news we first told you at the top of this newscast, philadelphia police are speaking right now about the woman abducted off a sidewalk found alive in maryland. >> they are here. so let me ask the special agent in charge of the philadelphia field office to come forward. >> good evening, everyone. i am the special agent in charge of the philadelphia field office. tonight the fbi and the philadelphia police department have great news. carlesha freeland has been rescued. her abductor has been arrested. [ cheering and applause ] >> in maryland. to give you a bit of background, right from the night of the kidnapping philadelphia police department and the fbi have been working tirelessly to try to solve this case. with the help of the media and many, many citizens who called in tips, we were able to identify this individual, identify his car and tra

john epps is accused of groping a 12-year-old girl in hallway of the school. police say the alleged groping was caught on a security camera. he is charged with fourth degree assault. police have not released many details on a second case. they say it involves a damascus high school student volunteering at the middle school. >>> eric hoppedder has referred to loretta lynch as a top prosecutor. she started her career back in 1990. in 1999 she helped prosecute the police brutality case and helped investigate citigroup over mortgage securities frauds. if chosen she would be the first black woman to headed justice department. >>> a new report says a number of safety seats meet the mark when it comes to keeping your child safe. >> getting into your hotel room will soon be as easy as point and click from your mobile device. wusa9 is back right after this. >>> 6:008 this thursday morning a. yellow alert day -- 6:08 this thursday morning. a yellow alert day. we have rain the next couple of hours. the damage is done i think with the rain. mild, some sunny breaks but a f

baker middle school last month, 44- year-old john edward epps, jr. the contractor was hired by a temp agency for a company called net com worked on security cameras, the same ones police say caught him touching a 12-year-old girl's buttocks as she walked past him, an act that ended in both assault and sex assault charges. the school waited nearly a month before informing parents and held a meeting today. >> they said it was an isolated indent. how do you know? >> reporter: wusa9 is learning it may not be. today the principal of damascus high school sent a letter out saying one of her students may have been touched inappropriately by epps during a visit to baker. we did a quick search and found epps was arrested for sex offenses and other charges in 2001 and 2010. he pled guilty to a second degree assault charge in 2010. he is not listed on maryland's sex offender registry which would have prohibited him from working in the school according to maryland law. >> just a few minutes ago we got word of another unrepeated problem at baker middle school. the

charged in the case, 44-year-old john edward epps. epps is described as a contractor who was doing work in the school. >> it's conceivable the cameras he was working on were the same cameras that took the picture of this alleged assault? >> that possible. >> reporter: according to court documents the school security footage clearly shows epps reaching beyond his normal arm motion to couch -- touch the juvenile. in a sent out by the school they say there's allegati allegations epps may have inappropriately touched a 17-year-old high school student when she was here for a school activity. no charges yet but police are investigating. parents of students of baker middle, they're most upset. do you have confidence in the principal at that school? >> no. no. >> absolutely not. >> reporter: do you think the principal should be removed? >> absolutely. >> reporter: the parents say they didn't learn about the sex assault here until weeks after it happened. they have a lot to say and we're all ears coming up at 6:00, live in damascus, pat collin

baker middle school last month, 44- year-old john edward epps jr., a contractor hired by a temp agency by a company called net com worked on security cameras, police say also the same one that touched a 12-year-old girl's buttocks that ended in charges. today the school held a meeting. >> they said it was an isolated incident. how do you know? >> reporter: wusa9 is learning it may not be. today the principal of damascus high school sent out a letter saying one of her students may have been touched inappropriately by epps during a visit to baker. we did a quick search and found epps was arrested for sex offenses and other charges in 2001 and 2010. he pled guilty to a second degree assault charge in 2010. he is not listed on maryland's sex offender registry which would have prohibited him from working in the school according to maryland law, but with his history, why didn't net com, the temp agency, nor montgomery county public schools know. they say his background check showed no prior record. however, the department of school safety and security reviewed the matter after the arrest and

epps, a- john contract worker, is accused of inappropriately touching a 12 euro girl in the hallway. daughterelps dollar -- is a sixth grader and he said parents were not notified until a month later. but why weren't we notified when it happened? -- >> why weren't we notified en it happened? they notify us about so many things, but why did this takes a long? is now free on $50,000 bond. parents are not happy. >> the district has sent out several letters of apology. the spokesperson today said essentially, we really did not do a good job of keeping parents informed. there is a meeting tomorrow night at baker middle school to discuss these cases. in germantown, richard reid, abc 7 news. earlyht now, tracking the bitter cold sweeping across the united states. the arctic weather is already pounding montana, the dakotas, and minnesota. they are getting snow there. some places could see up to 10 inches of snow later tonight. dealinge, millions are with flight cancellations, slippery roads, and snow-covered landscapes. >> you know, i love winter. i hate getting to winter. >> most of the sno