Closed hearing Thursday for juvenile defendant in Damascus H.S. sexual assault case

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - More than seven months after a locker room rape scandal stunned Damascus High School, one of the teenagers charged in the case was expected to plead guilty Thursday morning. But now, the public may never know what exactly happened inside that Montgomery County courtroom.

The case is being heard in juvenile court and while juvenile records are sealed in Maryland, typically juvenile hearings themselves are open to the public. That was not the case today, however, when the judge ordered everyone out of the courtroom except for those with direct ties to the case.

That followed a motion by the defense and came despite arguments from members of the media who were in attendance and said - essentially - that the public deserves to know how this case plays out.

The whole controversy started last Halloween when JV football players at Damascus High were accused of raping one teammate with a broomstick and attempting to rape others.

Four of those students were charged as adults. Eventually, their cases were kicked back down to juvenile court.

Since that time, Damascus' principal resigned and the school's athletic director has been replaced.

FOX 5 is still working to figure out what exactly today's defendant plead to. We are not naming him because he is a minor who is no longer being charged as an adult.

His sentencing is scheduled for August.

The other three defendants in this case are all still working their way through the courts.