A former Baltimore City substitute teacher and staff member at Charles H. Hickey, Jr. School has been arrested and charged with 38 counts of sexual abuse of a minor and other offenses, according to Baltimore County Police and court records.

Ronald Neverdon, 78, of Woodstock, was arrested Wednesday after police were notified in April 2024 of the sexual assaults that occurred from approximately 1976 through 1988. He was ordered held without bond by District Judge Krystin J. Richardson on Thursday. Neverdon’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 2.

Neverdon did not have an attorney listed in the court records. The Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Neverdon is currently at the center of a lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services by more than 60 plaintiffs who accuse him of sexually abusing them at a youth detention center.

The 59-page complaint filed against the state earlier this month details the abuse that the dozens of plaintiffs, men who are now in their 30s to 60s, say they suffered at the hands of Neverdon as children. Many of them allege that they continue to suffer from psychological problems, anger issues and addiction because of the abuse.

Neverdon worked for the school system intermittently for several years leading up to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a city schools spokesperson and payroll records reviewed by The Baltimore Sun.

Neverdon last worked as a substitute teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools in February 2020, city schools spokesperson Sherry Christian confirmed. Payroll records from that year list the former DJS employee’s initial hire date with the school system as October 2013.

The civil complaint in Baltimore City Circuit Court alleges that Neverdon sexually abused dozens of boys who were being held at the Charles H. Hickey, Jr. School juvenile facility during his tenure at DJS from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Neverdon took advantage of his victims by offering them cash, drugs and gifts, according to the complaint. He was able to keep them quiet about the alleged abuse by threatening them with various types of punishment if they reported the crime, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit was enabled by Maryland’s Child Victims Act, which removed the state’s statute of limitations on most civil claims related to child sex abuse. As far as criminal matters, state law does not impose a statute of limitations on felonies, including most sex crimes.

Though it does not list Neverdon as a defendant, the complaint appears to be the first time Neverdon has been accused in civil court of sexually abusing youth at Hickey.

The latest suit against Maryland comes as lawmakers weigh legislation to cap the state’s liability under the Child Victims Act as settlements could cost the state over $3 billion.

The National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached by phone 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE or online. The hotline, operated by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, or RAINN, range of free services including confidential support from a trained staff member. Sun reporter Dan Belson contributed to this report. Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at tkarpovich@baltsun.com or on X as @ToddKarpovich.