A trial date has been set for a former Washington-Liberty High School substitute teacher accused of taking indecent liberties with a high school student.
The trial of Timothy McGhee, 47, is scheduled to begin in Arlington’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on April 23.
McGhee met the alleged victim when he became a long-term substitute teacher for her math class, according to court documents obtained by ARLnow’s sister site, ALXnow.
He is accused of engaging in numerous sexual encounters with the student, who was 16 when they met. Court documents also allege that he bought a diamond ring for her and went on a road trip with her before their relationship ended in December.
The relationship allegedly lasted years
Shortly after McGhee took over as the victim’s long-term substitute teacher in the fall of 2022, the two developed a relationship when McGhee began working as a private math tutor outside of school hours.
The victim would visit McGhee approximately four times a day in his classroom, before, during and after school. McGhee would often “pick her up in the evening, and they would go to nearby locations,” court documents said.
Their relationship also turned digital, with McGhee sharing a Google Drive with the victim and later creating a website where the two could chat with each other.
McGhee is accused of exposing himself to the teenager for the first time when she was 16 years old while in his car in a parking lot on N. Glebe Road.
Prosecutors claim that they regularly engaged in sexual activity both before and after she turned 18, often doing so in a vehicle on N. Buchanan Street near Langston Blvd.
The victim’s mother reportedly allowed her to accompany him on a trip to Chicago in May 2023. The alleged victim reported McGhee to police shortly after their relationship ended late last year.
McGhee reportedly discussed religion, a future with victim
McGhee, who “quoted liberally from the Bible” during an unsuccessful state Senate campaign in 2011, routinely discussed religion with the victim, she told police.
“She said he frequently would give her small pieces of paper that contained references to Jesus and that he possessed many small-sized New Testament bibles,” court documents say.
The documents also claim that McGhee told the victim that he “wanted to marry someone who was Christian” and that the victim “looked like the perfect wife for him.”
When the victim was 17, McGhee purchased a diamond ring for her, according to the documents, but it is unclear what specifically the intent behind the alleged ring was.
“She said he showed it to her on several occasions, but he never allowed her to keep it,” documents aid. “She described it as an eternity-style ring with 19 stones.”
No ring was seized during a police search of his apartment in Alexandria on Jan. 10. However, according to an inventory list, paperwork for a ring as well as a black “rectangular hard case” was recovered.
ALXnow’s James Cullum contributed to this report.
