The assistant principal and athletic director at Goodrich (Mich.) High School — placed on leave in June amid allegations of inappropriate conduct with former students — submitted his resignation at a school board meeting Monday.
The board, which voted 7 to 1 to accept the resignation, did not specify why David Davis resigned. After he was placed on leave, Goodrich Area Schools was contacted by multiple law enforcement agencies and told there is a multi-agency criminal investigation related to Davis.
Some members of the community questioned the decision, considering his history, including his time as a coach and employee at Atherton Community Schools.
CBS affiliate WNEM in Bay City, Mich., learned through a Freedom of Information Act request that Davis was investigated for inappropriate conduct with multiple female students in the mid-to-late 2000s — and that the superintendent of Atherton Community Schools recommended he be fired in 2008. Davis resigned a week later but maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.
WNEM reported Tuesday that Davis had violated the terms of his leave agreement at Goodrich by attending a basketball camp at which players he was instructed to not have contact with were participating.
Through a FOIA request, WNEM obtained the September letter of dismissal regarding Davis.
The letter says he “used his position to identify and groom students who he would later approach for the purpose of requesting or offering to purchase naked “selfie” photographs of these students. On one occasion, he undertook this course of action while deeply intoxicated and while attempting to persuade recent Goodrich graduates, who were minors, to consume alcohol with him. When directed to refrain from contacting Goodrich stakeholders while on administrative leave, he ignored the directive and attended a Girls’ Basketball Camp, where he engaged with Goodrich stakeholders.”
The letter outlined allegations made by seven former students. Several of the students said Davis would reach out to them on social media following graduation, with escalating messages that would comment on their appearance, saying “you’re a dime” or saying they looked “hot." For some, this would escalate into requests for naked selfies in exchange for money.
One former student told investigators, “Mr. Davis sent her a list of prices, that was broken down into 4 or 5 categories: such as category for topless, one for naked, and the like.”
Ted Bean, an attorney who represents former female students of Davis from his time at Atherton, spoke during Monday's meeting, questioning the decision to accept Davis’ resignation. "That he did inappropriate things and we believe that he’s admitted some of it and to allow him to resign is really the wrong thing to do," Bean said.
Bean worries Davis can now apply to another school because the school board accepted his resignation, he believes Davis should have been fired. "He might get a job at the next place where he would be in contact with people he maybe shouldn't be in contact with," Bean said.
Those concerns are shared by at least one woman who claims Davis victimized her while she was a student at Atherton, taking the student to a Detroit Pistons game, providing her with alcohol and propositioning her with money upon their return. Video of that WNEM interview can be seen here.
The Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed it referred the case to the Attorney General’s office, which told WNEM it has received the referral and has assigned a prosecutor. No charges have yet been filed.
