x
Breaking News
More () »

Montgomery Co. Schools security guard on leave for showing explicit photos to student

The incident happened last year at Earle B. Woods Middle School.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — A man working as a security guard at a Montgomery County middle school has been placed on administrative leave after police arrested him for sex crimes. 

The incident happened last year. 

Varvie Daughtry, 36, was arrested by Montgomery County Police on March 23, 2023, and accused of sex abuse of a minor and displaying obscene material to a minor, according to charging documents. 

The documents say a 13-year-old boy was serving an in-school suspension on Nov. 30 after getting into a fight the day before. The boy told investigators that Daughtry was supervising him during his suspension in a classroom during school hours. 

The boy said he and Daughtry were alone in a classroom at Earle B. Woods Middle School when Daughtry began showing the boy images on his phone of nude women. 

Daughtry told the boy he also worked as a security guard at a nightclub, and showed the boy numerous images and videos, the documents say. The boy told police he felt uncomfortable with the images and knew they were inappropriate. 

Last month, investigators executed a search warrant on Daughtry's phone and found various images that matched images that the boy described.

In a letter sent home to Earle B. Woods parents and staff on Thursday, Principal Heidi L. Slatcoff said Daughtry was placed on administrative leave last year, meaning he has not been allowed in the school or on school grounds since the police investigation started. 

"The allegations against Mr. Daughtry are troubling, reprehensible and are contrary to the principles and values of MCPS and our community," Slotcoff said.

Some Montgomery County parents are outraged that the school system is not explaining further.

Criminal records available publicly and accessible online in Maryland and the District of Columbia document Daughtry's criminal history which includes pleading guilty to sexual solicitation and serving a sentence for armed robbery.

Daughtry was featured in a 2016 article on juvenile justice reform where he commented on his time behind bars.

The information was first uncovered by MoCo360 prompted school officials to send a letter to parents Thursday.

Montgomery County Schools spokesman Christopher C. Cram declined to answer WUSA9's questions about the school systems background checks and policies. Cram said the letter from Principal Slatcoff would be the only information released.

Cram's position left parent Mary Kate Davis enraged and concerned.

"We have enough to worry about with school safety that we should have to worry about the staffing of the school being unsafe for our children," Davis said.

"I feel like MCPS owes parents an explanation of how this happened and an assurance it isn't going to happen again."

WUSA9 is now on Roku and Amazon Fire TVs. Download the apps today for live newscasts and video on demand.

Download the WUSA9 app to get breaking news, weather and important stories at your fingertips.

Sign up for the Get Up DC newsletter: Your forecast. Your commute. Your news.
Sign up for the Capitol Breach email newsletter, delivering the latest breaking news and a roundup of the investigation into the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021.

Before You Leave, Check This Out