A mistrial has been declared in the case against a former substitute teacher accused of having a two-year sexual relationship with a Washington-Liberty High School student.
Prosecutors sought the mistrial last Thursday after a jury failed to deliver a unanimous verdict in the three-day trial of Timothy Thomas McGhee, defense attorney Damon D. Colbert told ARLnow. The 12-member jury was ultimately split 8-to-4 — forcing Chief Circuit Court Judge Judith L. Wheat to grant the motion and declare a mistrial.
McGhee, who was indicted on one count of taking indecent liberties with a minor, is now expected to face a second trial. A scheduling hearing has been placed on the docket for Wednesday.
Reached for comment, Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told ARLnow that “we have every intention of retrying the case.”
Prosecutors alleged that the 48-year-old engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship in 2022 with a then-16-year-old, whom he met while employed as a long-term substitute teacher at the school.
McGhee was accused of meeting daily with the victim — both inside and outside of school — starting in 2022, before the relationship turned physical, according to court documents.
Prosecutors also said that McGhee initially exposed himself to the minor in his car while in a parking lot on N. Glebe Road. Multiple sexual encounters followed, both in his vehicle and at the minor’s Arlington residence, court documents allege.
When the teen was 17, prosecutors say, she accompanied McGhee on a trip to Chicago where the two allegedly engaged in sexual activity.
“She had told her mother that someone in Mr. McGhee’s family had died and that Mr. McGhee wanted company for the long drive to Chicago for the funeral,” court documents say. “She said her mother allowed her to go on the trip with Mr. McGhee.”
The reported victim ended the relationship in December 2024, shortly after she turned 18. McGhee was arrested the following month, according to court records.
