Another Sexual Misconduct Related Suspension, This Time In Baltimore

The 11/9/2018 edition of the Baltimore Sun published an article by Sarah Meehan that reports the decision by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) to suspend their concertmaster, Jonathan Carney, for what the orchestra defined as “inappropriate behavior.”

The alleged incident that led to Carney’s suspension occurred at the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra where the victim accused Carney of verbally attacking her. As a result, a district court granted a temporary peace order against Carney.

According to the Maryland Judiciary, a peace order “provides protection to people experiencing certain kinds of abuse who are not eligible for protective orders.” Petitioners must file complaints within 30 days of when the abuse occurred while definitions of abuse include:

• Act that causes serious bodily harm;
• Act that places the petitioner in fear of imminent serious bodily harm;
• Assault;
• Rape or sexual offense;
• False imprisonment;
• Harassment;
• Stalking;
• Trespass under Title 6, Subtitle 4 of the Criminal Law Article; or
• Malicious destruction of property

The 11/9/2018 edition of the Baltimore Sun published another article, also written by Meehan, that provides additional details related to the alleged incident:

The complaint alleges that on Oct. 31 at about 8:30 p.m., Carney approached the employee in the lobby of the First English Lutheran Church in Baltimore’s Guilford neighborhood, where the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra had been rehearsing. In the court documents, the woman alleged Carney verbally attacked her.

“You have a lot of nerve coming here after what you did. You had no right to say what you said, and you will be hearing from my lawyer,” Carney said, according to the peace order application. “Your teacher … will never work again, and you will never see the light of day when I’m finished. Don’t even think about coming to the concert tomorrow night. I don’t want you there. I don’t want you anywhere near me.”

[The judge] ordered Carney not to threaten the petitioner, not to contact her, not to enter her residence, and to stay away from the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, according to court documents.

The hearing on whether the peace order will become permanent, along with any other potential judgements, is scheduled for today.