11 families sue Huron Valley School District after substitute convicted of sexual assault

Lawsuit filed against Huron Valley School District

Attorney Ven Johnson held a press conference Monday morning to announce the lawsuit, which has been filed against the Huron Valley School District, Edustaff (the staffing company that contracted with the district to provide substitute teachers), and multiple district employees. Under Michigan law, the employees are required to report suspected child abuse and failed to do so.

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Two-and-a-half months after a substitute teacher in the Huron Valley School District was sentenced to spend at least 10 years prison for sexual assault, 11 families are suing the school district for the way it handled Timothy Daugherty and the crimes he's been convicted of.

Attorney Ven Johnson held a press conference Monday morning to announce the lawsuit, which has been filed against the Huron Valley School District, Edustaff (the staffing company that contracted with the district to provide substitute teachers), and multiple district employees. Under Michigan law, the employees are required to report suspected child abuse and failed to do so.

Dig deeper:

Daugherty was a sub at Spring Mills Elementary in Highland Township when multiple girls between the ages of 9 and 11 reported that he had touched them.

Daugherty was found guilty of six counts second-degree criminal sexual conduct and the prosecution asked for the maximum sentence, going beyond regular sentencing guidelines.

He was ultimately sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison as Judge Yasmine Isshak Poles blasted his attempted apology in the courtroom.

"So I don't really hear you taking responsibility. I hear you saying that I'm the adult here, so I guess I gotta take the fall for this thing," she said. "Those children all testified truthfully that you put them in positions of sexually assaulting them, touching their body, their children. And you're the teacher. It's everybody's worst nightmare."

Ex-teacher sentenced 10-15 years for criminal sexual assault

Timothy Allen Daugherty, 61, was subbing at Spring Mills Elementary in Highland Township when multiple girls between the ages of 9 and 11 reported that he had touched them.

Poles said that Daugherty in his position of power surrounded by young children took advantage without worrying that anyone would notice his actions.

"And you did it in the sneakiest, slimiest way possible," she said. "You touched them when they were sitting on your lap. How disgusting is that? How disgusting are you?"

What they're saying:

In the press conference on Monday, Johnson said that the school employees should have done something.

"If they have ‘reasonable cause to suspect’… that a child is being sexually touched, it is their obligation under the law to really do one thing and one thing only. It is not to investigate themselves and decide whether or not those charges or those allegations are true. Their job is to report it to Child Protective Services, CPS, and also therefore the authorities, which would be the police. In this particular case, the only reason charges came forward in two different timeframes are because of the brave souls that we have that we're blessed to represent in this case," Johnson said.

One of the victims who Johnson is representing was just 11 when Daugherty first assaulted her in 2016, but Johnson said this was not a standalone incident and the school could have put a stop to it sooner.

"That's what he did. And he was going to do it as long as he was allowed to do it. And, sadly, the folks at Spring Mills made it possible for him to continue as long as he did and didn't stop the abuse from happening to so many other girls in their school," Johnson said.

The girl came forward at the time and her parents went to the prosecutor's office – but it was not prosecuted. Johnson said the office had to make a decision not to go forward with trial based on the victim's age.

"They elected not to go forward with trial. Because they had an 11-year-old child versus the defendant, who, of course, was Doherty, in a situation where it was two people. And it was going to be a very difficult thing. The prosecutor recommended charges to be dismissed," he said.

In 2016, Daugherty was held on a $25,000 personal bond and, as part of that bond, he was required to move out of the family home and have no contact with minors. The bond was changed to allow him to live at home. 

During all of this time, Daugherty worked for Edustaff, which Johnson argues knew about Daugherty's bond.

"He was working for Edustaff at the time. So without any question, Edustaff knew about this," he said. "A teacher who teaches children, a teacher who teaches young children, once they have an investigation like this, they need, it's their responsibility and their employer's responsibility, who obviously knew about this situation, meaning the charges, to investigate and to make a decision about employment."

Johnson said Daugherty and his Edustaff should have brought it up.

"How they allowed him to go into 12 different elementary schools throughout our area, ladies and gentlemen, is an absolute travesty," Johnson said.

Johnson said that young girl was just the beginning - but not the only one victimized by Daugherty.

"We have evidence in our case that starting in. 2019 we have multiple young ladies who were sexually touched and abused and then when you go through the years 2020, 2021 and we have more in 2023 and ultimately in 2024," 

The case was filed in the eastern district in Oakland County.

The other side:

In response to the lawsuit, Huron Valley Schools released a 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."