A former Harford County County Public Schools employee accused of having sex with a student will likely accept a plea bargain, his lawyer told the court Monday.
Anthony Leon Farris Jr., 24, of the 1000 block of Pirates Court in Edgewood, is charged with sex abuse of a minor and three counts of fourth-degree sex offense, according to online court records.
The charges stem from an alleged sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student, according to a release issued by the Bel Air Police Department at the time of his arrest. Farris allegedly used his office at Bel Air High School to engage in sexual activity with the girl, an abc2news.com story states.
Farris appeared in Harford County Circuit Court Monday with his lawyer, Michael Schaech, to request a postponement.
"We are extremely close to a plea in this case," Schaech told Judge Angela Eaves.
Schaech added the main point of contention is a request from Schaech to suppress certain statements Farris made.
"I am 99.9 percent sure that given the time, this case will work itself out," Schaech said.
Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Marts, the prosecutor in the case, agreed that they were close to reaching a plea agreement and, although she is prepared to take the case to trial, if they don't need to put the girl through testifying that would be ideal.
Marts also added that the victim's mother was in the courtroom.
A suppression hearing has been set for Aug. 5. If a plea agreement has been reached, the case may be concluded that day. A new trial date is set for Sept. 11.
Farris has filed separate charges against the victim, and the her lawyer was also in court for the hearing. Juvenile charges are not open to the public and the specifics of that case were not immediately available.
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