WIMBERLEY — After more than 20 years of teaching at traditionally underserved schools, David Schachter began the 2022-23 school year with a fresh start at Danforth Junior High School in Wimberley ISD. Less than a month later, his world was turned upside down. Now, he has filed a lawsuit against the school district, as well as the Hays County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices, citing wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution.
The Lead Up
According to Schachter, everything in Wimberley started out great. The interview process was smooth, his department chair was really nice and kind and he quickly made friends with some other teachers.
It was for these reasons that when Danforth Junior High School principal Christi Moeller came into his conference period approximately two weeks into the 2022-23 school year with allegations of the teacher tucking hair behind students’ ears and giving them “wet willies,” Schachter was shocked.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, but that is so ridiculous.’ I was like, ‘Absolutely not,’” he said. “She was like, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of that. This is just nothing.’” Shortly following the exchange, Moeller called Schachter over the weekend to place him on leave.
According to his wife, Nicole Taylor, who was listening to the conversation on speakerphone, it still didn’t sound like a big concern.
“[Moeller] said, ‘Don’t worry, David. I’ve been in your classroom. I know that this stuff isn ’t true.’ She said, ‘Give me three days. You’ll be back in the classroom in three days,’” Taylor recalled.
Due to the fact that it was the end of the marking period for the interim progress report, Schachter claimed he continued working from home, grading papers and contacting parents about students’ grades.
“Then, all of a sudden, one day, I was just locked out of all of my stuff online, like, midway through that week,” he said.
After another week of not hearing anything from the school or district, the former teacher received a text message from a colleague about rumors going around.
“It wasn’t long after that that the superintendent called me in and threw this manilla folder down in front of me,” said Schachter. “He was like, ‘There’s all of these complaints about you … What do you think I should do here?’” It was at this point that the career educator said he knew that he could not be effective in the community anymore.
“As a teacher of any sort, trust building is vital. But in my opinion, it’s always been multiplied that times 10 for an English teacher because the best writing comes from deep within us and that can only come out through trust building,” he explained.
“And I knew that that was absolutely impossible in that community at that point.”
After coming to this realization, Schachter put his resignation in writing. Despite his disappointment, he began applying for jobs.
He also hired a criminal defense attorney, at the recommendation of his teacher association.
Investigation
On Sept. 7, 2022, in body-worn camera footage from the student resource officer (SRO) assigned to the school, Ashley Martinez, and Moeller discussed an email that the principal said was sent to her from a parent on Aug. 25, stating that their daughter heard that the English teacher moved a girl’s hair behind her ear, gave a boy a “wet willie” and did a “snapping thing” next to students’ ears.
The principal then explained how she spoke with another teacher who “goes in that classroom throughout the day.”
According to Moeller, the teacher said, 'I haven't seen anything concerning about the interactions between the teacher and the students. Nothing that would concern me about physical interactions.”
However, the teacher did express concerns about behavior management and a lack of structure.
The SRO and the principal continued to discuss how they believed Schachter had “been through this before,” despite them noting a lack of evidence to support the allegations in files from previous school districts.
“I almost think that he would have to be charged to get him out of here … because he has a history of this,” said Martinez.
“But then we have to prove it, too,” replied Moeller. “I mean, even if [the student’s] parents filed a police report — because they brought it up yesterday in that meeting — And basically it was said, carefully, if this would help the case.
And I never at one point said to her, ‘Hey, I need some documentation, I’m looking to fire this guy.’ I never said that. As an administrator, I’m not going to say that. But she did kind of allude to if it would help things, we would file this report. But actually, we still have to prove it. And none of my staff members have seen him do this.”
Throughout the additional available bodyworn camera footage, Martinez questioned two students and spoke with five parents regarding the allegations between Sept. 8 and 13. To each party, Martinez alleged that this was “not the first time” Schachter had been accused of such actions.
Additionally, Martinez explains that a Class C misdemeanor charge is “the same as a speeding ticket” and “if he’s smart, he’ll just accept the tickets.”
According to Schachter’s civil rights attorney Rebecca Webber, the alleged victims were not forensically interviewed until approximately two weeks after talking to Martinez.
Arrest and Trial
Within a week of his resignation, Schachter said Hays County Sheriff’s Office Detective Chase Fuller showed up at his house. At this point, after already securing an attorney, the former teacher directed the detective to contact his representation.
According to Taylor, Fuller later testified that, two weeks after the complaint was filed, he went to the forensic interview of the alleged victims, then he went by the house to get a statement from Schachter and, after being denied a comment, he issued the arrest warrant “without looking at any of the files, without conducting any investigation.”
On Sept. 27, 2022, Schachter self-surrendered and was taken into custody for offensive touching, a Class C misdemeanor. He was released shortly after on a person recognizance bond.
“It wasn’t long after that that a [Child Protective Services] investigator showed up in my front yard; they found out by seeing the news about my arrest,” said the educator.
Approximately a month after his arrest, still not knowing who made the allegations against him or what the actual allegations were, Schachter received a letter in the mail from CPS naming the two alleged victims and stating that they ruled out one accusation and found “reason to believe” for the other one.
According to Schachter, he was offered two plea bargain agreements by the Hays County District Attroney's Office, one of which was for a $100 fine and time served, but he declined both.
On Sept. 26, 2023, Schachter faced a trial by jury in the Hays County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 court.
According to Taylor, in addition to the accused, Fuller, Martinez and the alleged victim all testified in the trial.
“I think one of the most noteworthy things for me in the trial was that [Schachter's] defense attorney didn’t even show any of the videos. She didn’t need to show any of the videos to get a not guilty,” Taylor explained.
“The elaborate story that the child had been coached into telling was so unbelievable, in the context of it happening in a crowded classroom with another adult and a bunch of other kids, that, coupled with the detective's complete lack of investigation, which resulted in a complete lack of evidence against David; there was no evidence presented against David that resulted in the not guilty.”
“I didn't think the district attorney's office could do that. I didn't think that they could take something to trial when they don't have any evidence to support the charge,” she continued. Following the trial, in which Schachter was found not guilty, his CPS lawyer requested an administrative hearing where they showed the original videos of the alleged victim’s interviews prior to the official forensic interview. At this hearing, CPS overturned its previous ruling and “completely cleared
his name” according to
Webber.
As previously reported by the
News-Dispatch, in January 2024, both the case in which Schachter was found not guilty and the additional charge, which was ultimately dismissed by the state, were expunged by the court.
Ongoing Effects
Despite the fact that CPS overturned its ruling, the Texas Education Agency, which based its sanctions off of the initial CPS report, has yet to close its investigation into the educator, which is noted on his teaching license.
These allegations have had far-reaching effects on the lives of Schachter and his family, including loss of income, threatening messages, fear of leaving the house, bullying of their son and more.
The couple shared that, due to the loss of income and extra expense of legal fees, they have had to use money earmarked for their son’s college funds to make ends meet.
“We have always encouraged [our son] to work hard and dream big. As such, he has his sights set on Stanford for engineering, with [University of California] Berkeley and [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] as his backups,” Taylor said.
“Knowing we will never be able to afford any of these schools unless we can recover income lost is a big point of grief and anger for us.”
They have also experienced changes in their marriage as a result of this situation.
Taylor explained that she and Schachter have bonded over a shared love of education since they met, but since his resignation, that piece of the relationship has been missing.
“We felt a lot of grief over that because when a unifying part of your relationship is just severed … how do you rebuild that? And what do you replace that with and cultivate that with,” she said. “At the same time, I feel like this has really strengthened our relationship … We've really honed our ability to work as a team and support each other through this.”
However, the effects of Schachter’s arrest and subsequent prosecution have had the most impact on the family’s emotional well-being.
“I feel like we’re locked in a room without a key,” said Taylor. “I know that the process will help us to find closure eventually; the truth coming out is, I know, going to have a positive impact. But, when this is your reality for two years … It has overshadowed every life event, every celebration of an anniversary, a birthday, a holiday, all of our son's milestones … And for someone who didn't do anything wrong, that's really hard to swallow.”
Lawsuit
On Sept. 25, 2024, almost exactly two years after his arrest, Webber filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Austin Division, claiming Schachter’s civil rights were violated by wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution.
The lawsuit names former Danforth Junior High principal Christi Moeller, HCSO deputy and SRO Ashley Martinez, SRO Division supervisors James Young and Kenneth Carpenter, HCSO detective Chase Fuller, HCSO supervisor Eugene Carranza and assistant district attorney Jessica Rabena.
The suit claimed that “This is a lawsuit about a dedicated and highminded English teacher, Plaintiff David Schachter, whose 20-year teaching career, mental health and family’s security were destroyed when a middle school principal, two Hays County Sheriff's Office deputies and a Hays County Assistant District Attorney conspired to violate his civil rights and three Hays County Sheriff’s Office supervisors failed to curb their subordinates’ misconduct.”
According to the filing, Schachter requested recovery for his “past and future economic loss from the ruination of his teaching career, his past and future mental anguish from the trauma of being framed and ostracized, his loss of consortium with his beloved son and wife as he dealt with this ordeal, pre- and post-judgment interest [and]attorney’s fees, expenses and costs.”
He also requested a jury trial.
What it comes down to for the family is their desire for the truth to be heard.
“I feel strongly that the community of Wimberley deserves to know what really happened at that school two years ago. You know, we are parents, and as a parent, if something like that happened in my child's school, if a law enforcement officer and a principal colluded to frame an innocent teacher and manipulated children to that end, I would have a lot to say about that and I think they have a right to know this so that they can make informed decisions about their child's education,” Taylor stated. “It's important that when public officials abuse their power, that they be held accountable for their actions.”
---- In regards to what Schachter would say to the people who put his family in this position, he said, “Absolutely, with all clarity, we do want people to continue believing children who outcry.
Kids make mistakes.
They do things without thinking them through, but as adults in their lives, especially adults who have chosen either to be parents or educators or public servants, it is our job to guide them, either back to the correct path or figure out you know what actually did go wrong and remedy it through the appropriate channels in the appropriate ways.”
“I'm not being hyperbolic when I say that this shattered my entire sense of self and that I really am still just picking up the pieces of who I am and trying to put myself back in a semblance of whom I have, like, really worked my ass off to be for my whole life. You know, that's a really big fundamental piece of what they took away from me and what they did to me,” Schachter concluded.
Wimberley ISD, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office and the Hays County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
