Emerson Carl Schaeffer, 27, of St. Inigoes
UPDATE 3/31/2025: Newly released court documents provided more information on the ongoing criminal case against Emerson Carl Schaeffer, 27, of St. Inigoes, who is now facing multiple charges in two separate incidents involving alleged assaults—including one case of felony child abuse.
According to the documents, the alleged child abuse occurred nearly two years ago, on April 27, 2023, but was not reported until March 28, 2025. The delay stemmed from a lost video that was originally captured by a home security system and only recently recovered from cloud storage.
Deputy J. Steeber of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office detailed the incident in an application for charges. He wrote that the mother of the 2-year-old male victim discovered the footage while reviewing archived content from a nanny cam system in her Lexington Park apartment. The video reportedly shows Schaeffer striking the child repeatedly with a spoon or similar object, causing the child to scream in pain. Schaeffer is then heard instructing the child to “put your nose in the corner” before continuing the alleged beating.
Court records show Schaeffer has been charged with second-degree assault and second-degree child abuse in a custodial setting for this incident. The arrest was made on March 29, 2025, and Schaeffer is currently being held without bond pending a bail review hearing.
The case became public after a graphic video and photos of the child were shared in a viral social media post on March 28. The post, which identified Schaeffer as a youth soccer coach, prompted widespread outrage and claimed he had a pattern of abusing women and children. It also claimed a previous protective order had been issued against him.
Schaeffer was also arrested on March 28, 2025, in a separate case involving an alleged assault of an adult female. According to court documents filed by Deputy B. Melton, the adult female victim told authorities that Schaeffer flipped a couch she was lying on during an argument, causing her to sustain a visible abrasion on her knee. That incident took place at a residence in St. Inigoes, and Schaeffer was arrested shortly afterward. He was released on his own recognizance in that case.
The woman in the March 28 case was granted a protective order. However, court records confirm that a separate request for a protective order—filed by the mother of the 2-year-old child—was denied. The judge ruled that she was not a person eligible for relief under current statutes.
Both criminal cases remain open. A bail review hearing is scheduled for March 31, 2025, in the child abuse case.
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office has not yet released an official statement regarding either incident.
UPDATE 3/30/2025: According to new details, the incident involving the alleged child abuse was originally captured on a nanny cam in 2023. The child’s mother was alerted to the situation through her cellphone and immediately went to the residence to confront Emerson Carl Schaeffer and stop the assault. Although the original video was reported as “lost,” it was recently recovered from cloud storage. In court proceedings, the child’s mother was denied a protective order. However, a separate protective order was granted to an adult female who was the alleged victim in the March 28, 2025, assault case.
3/30/2025: Emerson Carl Schaeffer, 27, of St. Inigoes, is facing multiple criminal charges—including felony child abuse—after a graphic video and photos showing the alleged abuse of a child were posted on social media and reported to law enforcement.
According to court documents filed in the District Court for St. Mary’s County, Emerson Schaeffer, was arrested on March 28 and March 29, 2025, in connection with two incidents.
The charges came to light shortly after a widely shared social media post accused Schaeffer of abusing a young child. The post, which included disturbing images and video footage, identified Schaeffer as a youth soccer coach and alleged that he was seen beating a 2-year-old autistic child with a wooden spoon. The child, according to the post, was forced to keep his nose on the ground during the incident.
The post went viral in the local community, stating: “ATTENTION LOCAL MAMAS … EMERSON SCHAEFFER of RIDGE, MD needs to be blasted for the abuse he puts on women and children.” It also alleged a history of domestic violence and restraining orders against Schaeffer, along with references to previous DUI arrests. The social media user further claimed that Schaeffer had been coaching in a local under-10 soccer league and that the league was “aware and investigating.”
Court records confirm that Schaeffer is now facing two charges of second-degree assault—one related to an incident on March 28, 2025, and another stemming from an April 27, 2023, case. In addition, he has been charged with second-degree felony child abuse involving a custodial situation.
According to charging documents, the child abuse charge is associated with the same incident shown in the social media post. A document filed on March 29, 2025, in the second case confirms that the alleged victim is a minor.
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office arrested Schaeffer on March 28 following the more recent assault allegation. He was released on his own recognizance in that case. However, following the issuance and service of an arrest warrant related to the child abuse investigation on March 29, he was ordered held without bond and remains in custody.
A bail review hearing is scheduled for March 31, 2025.
A temporary protective order petition filed in a domestic violence case was denied in St. Mary’s County District Court, according to court records.
The petition was filed on March 28, 2025, against Emerson C. Schaeffer, 27, of Saint Inigoes. The case was brought before the court under the civil domestic violence docket, with a hearing held the same day at the courthouse located on Leonard Hall Drive in Leonardtown.
According to the court’s official record, the judge denied the request for a temporary protective order on the grounds that “the petitioner is not a person eligible for relief” and that there was “no statutory basis for relief.”
The hearing concluded with the court finding that the legal requirements to issue a temporary order had not been met.
As a result of the denial, no protective order is currently in place, and the case is marked as complete.
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office has not released an official statement on this case or the social media allegations.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Emerson Carl Schaeffer, 27, of St. Inigoes
