A Maryland middle school security guard has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor and displaying obscene material to a child for allegedly showing porn to a 13-year-old student.
Varvie Daughtry, 36, was arrested and charged last week for the November incident at Earle B. Wood Middle School.
Daughtry previously served time in prison for an armed robbery and pleaded guilty in 2019 to sexual solicitation and served an unknown amount of time for that offense.
According to a report from FOX News, the 13-year-old had been in a fight at school and was given in-school suspension, which Daughtry supervised.
“During that day, the student talked to Daughtry about his job and asked if he worked anywhere else. Daughtry informed the boy that he also worked as a security guard at a nightclub in Washington, D.C.,” FOX News reports. “Daughtry then pulled out his phone and showed the student photos and videos of naked women and people having sex.”
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According to police reports, a 13-year-old student was involved in a fight just days before and given in-school suspension.
The student told detectives in December that Daughtry was his supervisor for in-school suspension on Nov. 30 and that they were the only two people in the classroom.
During that day, the student talked to Daughtry about his job and asked if he worked anywhere else. Daughtry informed the boy that he also worked as a security guard at a nightclub in Washington, D.C.
Daughtry then pulled out his phone and showed the student photos and videos of naked women and people having sex.
The student told detectives he felt uncomfortable and was aware the content was inappropriate.
Last month, detectives served Daughtry with a search warrant and discovered photos on his phone that matched the description given by the student.
Daughtry’s records reveal he has a previous criminal history, including other sex charges in Washington, D.C., from four years ago. He pled guilty to sex solicitation charges in the nation’s capital in March 2018.
He also served time in prison for an armed robbery in 2004 when he was 18 years old, although those charges were transferred to juvenile court because of his age.
It is unclear how Daughtry was hired to work at the school.
In a letter to parents about the arrest, Earle B. Wood Middle School principal Heidi L Slatcoff wrote that Daughtry has been placed on administrative leave.
“Mr. Daughtry did work at Wood Middle School but was placed on administrative leave last year, beginning on Monday, December 12, 2022 following consultation with police who had initiated an investigation,” Slatcoff wrote. “Being on administrative leave also meant that Mr. Daughtry was not allowed in our school or on our grounds. We worked very closely to support the police in their work to investigate this matter.”
Daughtry shared his memories of the time he spent in prison in a 2016 article for the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (JJIE), in which he described the complex harms of youth incarceration.
According to the article, Daughtry spent nine and a half months in adult prison, alone in a small cell with “nothing to do but exercise and read.” Once he was released, he experienced difficulty finding employment in the D.C. area because of his criminal record.
Yet somehow, he was hired as a security guard at a school.
From the JJIE article:
“You’re making it worse by [sending] a juvenile to a prison system or a lockup, instead of sending them to a decent, strict learning center,” Varvie Daughtry said. “Behind bars, the thought of being locked up, it destroys a child’s dreams.”
He and Terrell Branham, both former inmates and dedicated members of the Free Minds Book Club, are part of the October campaign of The Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ). The organization has asked justice-involved people to take action by sharing their stories so that others can understand the importance of juvenile justice issues. Free Minds Book Club is a program that uses reading, creative writing and peer support to help incarcerated youth in Washington reach their full potential as adults.
