Maryland teaching aide 'engaged in inappropriate behavior' on Zoom call with eighth grade students

A Maryland middle school teacher's aide was caught masturbating during a Zoom call with eighth grade students.

Marc Schack, a special education teaching assistant at Shady Grove Middle School in Gaithersburg, said he was unaware he was on-camera pleasuring himself until the school interviewed him about the incident, Bethesda Magazine reported.

"I thought I was logged out when class was over," said Schack to the Magazine. "I had no clue that Zoom was still on. Why would I do that? That’s my job. I had no clue that Zoom was on. I mean, that’s just crazy behavior."

The incident, which was later posted to social media, showed Schack, who was the moderator of the Zoom call at the time, stand up after gazing at the screen where he walked away and started touching his genitalia. A second moderator had to jump on the Zoom call to remove him and take his place.

Marc Schack, who also runs a business that throws 'pirate parties' for kids called Pirate Magic, insisted his actions "were a mistake." He said he never meant harm to his students. 'You gotta believe me on that …," he said. "I thought I was in the privacy of my own home. I had no clue," said Schack to Bethesda Magazine. "I’m only human," he added. “It was my bad.”

District officials called Schack notifying him that they were placing him on paid administrative leave. However, the school never mentioned the pleasure session to Schack, he just thought they were doing a background investigation.

Schack had no clue the incident was blasted on Zoom for all too see until days later. According to Bethesda Magazine, students on the Zoom call recorded the incident and were asked by district officials to delete their videos and not to share it with other students.

Shady Grove Principal Alana Murray wrote in a message to the community on Tuesday, that "an employee was seen on screen in a breakout room engaged in inappropriate behavior," but didn’t share specifics.

Montgomery County Police told FOX 5 Thursday that Schack would not be charged for the incident. "Investigators conferred with the State’s Attorney’s Office and it was determined that the incident did not rise to the level of a criminal offense under Maryland law."