Former private school principal charged with rape

Isaac is charged with 10 counts of common law rape and associated sex offenses, said Queen Anne’s County Deputy State’s Attorney Christine Dulla Rickard.

Maryland State Police Criminal Enforcement Division, Upper Shore Region, began its investigation in May 2016 when a woman came forward stating she was assaulted in the late 1960s when she was a 14-year-old student at the W.C. Moffett School in Barclay where Isaac was the principal.

As the investigation progressed, a second woman was identified, police said. She also reported being sexually assaulted by Isaac at the school, when she was 15. The assaults took place between 1966 and 1968, around 50 years age, the women told police.

There is no statute of limitations for common law rape, Rickard said, because it is defined by the cases and not by statute — “the actual definition comes from case law.”

The W.C. Moffett School opened Sept. 14, 1955, according to the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. A committee composed of the Chestertown, Grasonville, Harrington, Del., and Dover, Del. Seventh-day Adventist churches purchased the public school building at Barclay to serve as the church school and junior academy for the denomination. The school was named for Elder W.C. Moffett, a retired minister. It served students through grade 10.

An article in the Nov. 25, 1965, Columbia Union Visitor: Official Publication of the Columbia Union Conference, said by the school’s 10th anniversary it had expanded from two to four classrooms with a cafeteria/auditorium and boasted its largest enrollment at 85 students; the principal was William Bufford in 1965, and there were 63 students on the roll. Isaac became principal within a year or two after that.

Rickard said she believes Isaac served as principal for five to seven years.

Because the alleged crimes occurred here, the case will be tried in Queen Anne’s County.

The Maryland State Police Criminal Enforcement Division, Upper Shore Region, is comprised of investigators from Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Caroline and Dorchester counties. Troopers assigned to the unit investigate the most serious and time-consuming crimes while also providing investigative support to allied agencies in and throughout the area, police said.

Investigators said they believe there may be additional victims. Anyone who has information on this case is asked to contact the Centreville Barracks at 410-758-1101.