A former principal of Aberdeen Middle School, Regina Jones, has launched a defamation lawsuit against officers with the Aberdeen Police Department.

In January charges against Jones and a paraeducator at the school, alleging the two failed to report a rape, were dropped.

Jones’ lawsuit alleges defamation, slander, false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and violation of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. She is seeking $600,000 in compensatory damages and punitive damages from Capt. C. William Reiber, public information officer, and Detective Joshua Shoffstall, both of the Aberdeen Police Department.

The lawsuit, filed in September, stems from allegations in April 2023, accusing Jones and other school staff of failing to report suspected child abuse. A 13-year-old student reported to Jones and a paraeducator that she had been raped by a 17-year-old boy off campus after school hours.

Jones was informed of the rape on April 13, 2023. The rape was not reported to police until April 18, by hospital staff. Jones was arrested in July 2024 and charged with failing to report child abuse and other crimes.

The charges against Jones and other school staff for the matter were dismissed in January since mandatory reporting laws did not apply due to the 17-year-old perpetrator falling outside of what state law calls the “Caregiver Classes” that trigger mandatory reporting laws.

If the rape were to be reported as having happened by a parent, household or family member, or a person who exercises authority over the child due to their position or occupation, then school officials would have been mandated to report the allegation to police.

“Ms. Jones did not commit a crime, and there was no probable cause or reasonable basis to believe she did [commit a crime],” the lawsuit states. “It was obvious by the facts known at that time that the rape was not child ‘abuse’ or ‘sexual abuse’ as defined by Maryland’s mandated child abuse and neglect reporting laws.”

The lawsuit said that at the time of Jones’ arrest, the Aberdeen Police Department was aware that the 17-year-old suspect did not trigger mandatory reporting laws, but still proceeded to charge, arrest and indict Jones.

Jones’ charges were also brought before a grand jury by the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, despite prosecutors also having information regarding the suspect’s relationship with the victim, the lawsuit said.

“No reasonably competent officer or prosecutor who read [mandatory reporting state law] would have believed that probably cause existed to charge, indict, arrest and confine Ms. Jones,” the lawsuit said. “Neither the city’s investigating officers nor the State’s Attorney’s Office acted with any reasonable competence in investigating and pursuing charges against Ms. Jones. Their actions were not objectively reasonable and were grossly negligent.”

Reiber, in his position as the public information officer with the Aberdeen Police Department, issued a news release outlining the allegations and charges against Jones and other school officials with their mugshots attached.

The lawsuit said there was “no justification or excuse for making the false social media posts” and that the posts were made by Reiber with “an evil or rancorous motive influenced by hate.”

Citing the five-day delay in the rape being reported, Reiber told The Baltimore Sun in September 2024 that the delay impacted the investigation due to the possible loss, or damage, of evidence.

The police department went on to make other social media posts and comments to the media regarding Jones’ arrest and charges,  which the lawsuit says subjected Jones to “severe public scorn and outrage” and ultimately led to her being terminated from her position with Harford County Public Schools.

“Believing that Ms. Jones’s failure to report the rape when it was disclosed to her impeded and harmed the city’s investigation into the rape itself, the city and Capt. Reiber were obviously determined to retaliate against Ms. Jones and did so by making the false statements against her, with either actual knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth,” the lawsuit read.

The lawsuit said Reiber and the police department have yet to correct the posts that “shamed and humiliated” Jones, even though she did not violate the law.

The lawsuit states that the charges, Jones’ arrest and the social media posts made by Reiber on behalf of the Aberdeen Police Department, caused financial damage and mental anguish to Jones – entitling her to relief.

Jones’ attorney, Thomas Dolina, declined to comment on the case citing pending litigation, and both the City of Aberdeen and the Aberdeen Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Hearing dates for the case have yet to be scheduled.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.