(WXYZ) — Nearly a dozen families are suing the Huron Valley School District, a staffing company, and multiple school employees after a substitute teacher was convicted in the spring of sexually assaulting elementary school students.
Attorney Ven Johnson announced the filing of the civil suit on Monday on behalf of 11 families. According to Johnson, the assaults involved 10 children, while contact with an 11th person, who is now an adult, happened in 2016 at a sleepover.
Related Story: Ex-substitute convicted of sexually assaulting three young students gets 10-15 years in prison
The complaint alleges that multiple district employees failed to report suspected child abuse of Timothy Daugherty, 61, who was a substitute at Spring Mills Elementary in the Huron Valley School District. According to the complaint, beginning in 2019 at the school, Daugherty would allegedly hug students from behind and place his hand on their breasts, ask kids to sit on his lap, and engage in other inappropriate touching.
Daughtery was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison in July, convicted of six counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with numerous victims who were 10 years old and younger.
Read the full complaint below:
“The district and its employees are mandated to protect innocent children under their supervision – and they failed miserably ,” said attorney Ven Johnson in a statement. “ These parents begged school administration for help, only to be mocked, ridiculed and laughed out of board meetings. Rather than removing a known predator, the district continued to give him access to young children, and ignored the fact that these assaults were happening under their watch.”
Named in the lawsuit are Daugherty; Sarah Betley, who was the principal of Spring Mills Elementary; Kelly Mattingly, a social worker at Spring Mills; Paul Salah, superintendent of Huron Valley Schools; the Huron Valley School District; and EduStaff, LLC.
The families are seeking in excess of $75,000 in damages in this case.
The Huron Valley School District has released the following statement:
“The health and safety of our students is our top priority, and we take that responsibility very seriously. Huron Valley Schools wants to assure the parents and families in our district that we remain fully committed to the well-being of every student in our care. Due to ongoing litigation, we are unable to comment further on this matter at this time."
