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Church Nursery Volunteer Charged, Girl Says He Touched Her During Mass

TIMONIUM, Md. (WJZ) -- A volunteer at a Baltimore County church is charged with sexually abusing a four-year-old while her mother attended mass. WJZ's George Solis reports police are investigating whether there could be more victims.

Police arrested Terrence Smalls, 26, after a four-year-old girl accused him of abuse in late November at the Church of the Nativity in Timonium. The victim told police it happened during a Sunday morning mass.

"One of the things that we're going to be looking at is to see if there are anymore victims. Right now, we only have one -- and I certainly hope that this is it," said Cpl. John Wachter, Baltimore County Police Department.

Police say Smalls' roles outside the church are equally -- if not more -- concerning, as they too provided him with access to young children. One such place was Pot Spring Elementary School.

Baltimore County school officials tell WJZ Smalls worked at the school as an additional assistant from 2013 up until just last month -- November of 2016. The role is under the supervision of a teacher.

WJZ spoke with school employees who say they remember him.

"He was so nice. We never would think he would do something like that," one employee said.

"And you just never think something like that would happen so close to home," said another.

Detectives say Smalls also offered online babysitting services and volunteered with a Girl Scout troop that met at the school and Epworth United Methodist Church in Cockeysville.

They also found he worked at the Little Gym in Hunt Valley from July to October of 2016.

"The fact that we have this one crime that's been committed, we have to go and look to see if there are more -- and I certainly hope we don't find anymore," said Wachter.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore issued the following statement:

"Terence Smalls, a former volunteer at the Church of the Nativity in Timonium, was arrested yesterday on charges of child sex abuse. Mr. Smalls began volunteer work with the church in 2010 and was involved in various children's programs. On December 2, 2016, after being given permission by the Police to do so, the Church of the Nativity sent an email to its parishioners indicating that a volunteer was under investigation by Baltimore County Police after an allegation of sexual abuse with a minor had arisen earlier that week. In the email, people with additional information were asked by the parish to contact Baltimore County Police.

The Archdiocese and the Church of the Nativity have been cooperating with authorities since they immediately reported the matter on November 27, 2016. They appreciate the work of the Baltimore County Police in this matter. All Archdiocesan volunteers who work with children are screened for criminal histories and the national sex offender registry, and go through training on how to recognize, prevent, and report child abuse. Mr. Smalls went through this process in 2010 and again in 2015.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Church of the Nativity are committed to protecting children and helping to heal victims of abuse. We urge anyone who has any knowledge of any child sexual abuse to come forward and to report it immediately to civil authorities (Baltimore County Police, Crimes Against Children Unit: 410-853-3650). If Church personnel is suspected of committing the abuse, we ask that you also call the Archdiocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection Hotline at 1-866-417-7469."

Smalls was released Friday night on $75,000 bail.

The church and police are urging anyone with information about this case or any other to come forward.

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