Where Are The Parents

Teen Sex Parties Increase Spread Of STDs

POSTED: 6:17 pm EST November 15, 2006
UPDATED: 6:52 pm EST November 15, 2006

CARROLL CO., Md. -- A teen sex party scandal is shocking Carroll County residents and health officials said the parties are causing a spike in the spreading of sexually transmitted diseases in the county.

WBAL TV 11 News interviewed a few high school girls anonymously who said the sex parties do happen.

Local health counselors said the practice involves middle and high school students.

Cindy Marucci-Bosley, manager of the Carroll County Family Planning Clinic, said she threw a red flag when a large number of young girls started asking for emergency contraception.

"I've had groups of girls come in for emergency contraception that are reporting living in the same area, that are coming in, having sex at the same time," Marucci-Bosley said.

She said some of the girls have reported having 30-40 sex partners and that a large number of cases are from northern Carroll County.

Marucci-Bosley said demand for emergency contraception is skyrocketing. Her office distributed 366 doses this year -- 118 more doses than in all of 2005.

The news comes as STD rates are increasing in the area.

State statistics showed reports of chlamydia spiked 50 percent last year in the county. Nearly 40 percent of the infected were teenagers.

"I think alcohol and drugs have a big piece of it, " Marucci-Bosley said.

Substance abuse counselor Mark Yount, who works as a specialist at the Junction Inc. Treatment Center in Westminster, said he's heard sex party stories first-hand.

"There are lots of mattresses and multiple partners. The only way I can simply put it is, there is definitely a sharing of bodily fluids. And I'm not talking along the line of vampires or anything. So, that really concerns me as far as STDs and teen pregnancy, and we are starting to see some increases in those areas," he said.

Hampstead police said they're looking into the matter, but said there aren't many criminal charges that can apply.

The superintendent of Carroll County schools said he's shocked by the news.

He said he would continue to recommend expanding middle school health classes to include birth control and STD information.

Right now, the school board has mandated that the curriculum only include abstinence.
Copyright 2006 by TheWBALChannel.com. All rights reserved.