A counselor at the Chinese American School Summer Camp in Rockville was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and third-degree sex offense in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Patrick Estrella, 77, was convicted on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of third-degree sex offense stemming from two victims — an 8-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl — at the camp last summer.
Estrella, of Clarksburg, was a counselor and chess teacher at the camp from 2013 to 2024. The camp is held at Luxmanor Elementary School, where the Chinese American School rents space, according to a release from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Central to the conviction was a video recorded by a 16-year-old counselor who noticed Estrella sexually assaulting the girls. The counselor set up his phone on a ledge and used his watch to remotely record Estrella touching the girls inappropriately, using his hand and making contact with them using his groin, according to the release.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to the young man who witnessed these assaults on vulnerable victims and decided to act. The video he recorded became crucial evidence in the case. Thanks to his brave actions, the thorough investigation by Montgomery County Police and the work of our prosecution team, the defendant will no longer be able to harm another child in our community,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy in a statement.
Videos from the counselor showed Estrella touching the girls on their buttocks and picking one of them up before moving his torso against her in a motion “consistent with sexual intercourse,” according to charging documents.
The sexual assault occurred Aug. 1, 2024, and the Montgomery County Police Special Victims Investigations Division opened an investigation the same day. A warrant for Estrella’s arrest was issued Sept. 13.
Judge J. Bradford McCullough presided over the three-day trial that began Monday and is scheduled to oversee sentencing Oct. 24. Estrella faces a maximum sentence of 70 years in prison.
Attorneys representing Estrella could not be immediately reached for comment.
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