David “Dewey” Louis Vasses, a 29-year-old Science Teacher/Wrestling coach with C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air, was arrested Saturday on charges that stem from information that a teacher at the high school was having a sexual relationship with at least one student at the school.
On Saturday, March 8, 2008, Harford County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Vasses, of the 100 block of Kipling Court in Abingdon, on charges of sexual child abuse, 4th degree sex offense and unnatural and perverted practices.
Vasses was released on $50,000.00 bond.
On the web site Rate My Teachers, Vasses is evidently ranked on his teaching performances at Aberdeen Middle School by several people who appear to be former students. Several of the comments, at least one dating back longer than a year, mention Vasses’ behavior as “really freaky,” “kinda sick and nasty,” “scary,” and refer to things he said that were “def.. outta line to students.” The latest comment, from two weeks ago, mentions word around school that Vasses had been “hooking up” with a student.
1/28/07: I think he’s the coolest teacher in the world. I love his reptiles and dog stories!
2/07/07: I thought he was awsome to looked forward to his class all day
2/24/07: ok, he is really freaky and really hard teacher. he is also kinda sick and nasty
8/15/07: He is so awsome i loved going to his class cause he was so cool!!!!!!!
8/19/07: awsome teacher! totally awsome. Made me, a new student, feel totally part of the class! Awsome. I will never forget him or his stories!
8/29/07: mr.v was a cool but scary teacher, he’d say things def.. outta line to students.
2/29/08: oh wow well the news around out school is he was hooking up with a student and just got arrested yesterday
The investigation is still continuing. Anyone with any information about this matter, is urged to contact the Harford County Child Advocacy Center at 410-638-3294.
Is the alleged student male or female?
charged with a 4th degree sex offense:
4th degree sexual offense: Not considered a sexually violent offense. Sexual contact without consent of victim, sexual act with victim 14 or 15 and perpetrator 4 years older; vaginal intercourse with victim 14 or 15 and perpetrator 4 years older. Sexual contact is intentionally touching genitalia, the anus or other intimate area. It includes penetration by a part of the body except the penis or mouth.
also, if he is convicted, he will have to register as a child sex offender:
Child Sexual Offender: An offender who has been convicted of any of the above offenses with a victim less than 15 years old, i.e., any sexually violent offense (1st or 2nd degree rape; 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree sexual offense), or a 4th degree sexual offense. Also includes offenders convicted of sexual abuse of a minor who is a family member or living in the household.
I’am not surprised. what better place for a child molester
if you were’ to spend some time in the school’s them self’s you might be surprised at the activity that takes place
I am totally shocked!!! This teacher was my son’s teacher at Aberdeen MS. He was fabulous.
The students were females.
ahh. wow. he was my science teacher in the 7th grade at aberdeen. he was really nasty and scary. but i liked his banana snake. other than that i knew something was wrong with him from the way he looked, talked and acted towards us. thats crazy!!!!!!
vermin such as this, is allowed to breathe the same air we do. my sister was molested when she was 6 years’ old
by a neighbor.
his strange behavior should have been a warning sign. he’s not convicted yet. no doubt will be released to do it again.
….he was my enivromental science teacher……he didnt kno how to teach….hed just look up worksheets on the internet and print them out and give them yo us for “webquests'” and he graded wierd…..like whoever handed in their prject first got an A and whoeverr last got an E….he was fun to mess around with but then he started being an asshole after christmas
j-man, was this widely known to be going on? Did all the kids know?
i had as a teacher in 7th grade at aberdeen….thats so crazy!!!! he wasnt that bad to me. i thought he was a pretty good teacher except for the whole dissecting frog thing…wasnt down for that. but he was fine besides that. i loved his reptile he always kept in class.
when you think baack though…..he was kind of “wierd”
first of all… i was the wrestling manager for c. milton wright so i was pretty close with dewey.. and the girl is my best friend. its really getting old how people say stuff like they know what is going on..i have known him for 3 years and yeah he is a little odd at times..but she wanted it just as bad as she did..and she is almost 18…and he didnt force her to do anything, over a dozen times?..and she drove herself to his house..so dont act like you know..cause you dont
i had him as a biology teacher and a wrestling coach for a while and he was one of the coolest guys i know… he wasnt just my teacher he was a friend… he had pretty cool stories and everything… idk i hope he gets off on his charges
Can someone out there explain why he was charged with a 4th degree sex offense if both victims were 17 at the time?
In Response to Steve to quote Maryland Law
§ 3-308. Sexual offense in the fourth degree.
(a) “Person in a position of authority” defined.- In this section, “person in a position of authority”:
(1) means a person who:
(i) is at least 21 years old;
(ii) is employed as a full-time permanent employee by a public or private preschool, elementary school, or secondary school; and
(iii) because of the person’s position or occupation, exercises supervision over a minor who attends the school; and
(2) includes a principal, vice principal, teacher, or school counselor at a public or private preschool, elementary school, or secondary school.
(b) Prohibited.- A person may not engage in:
(1) sexual contact with another without the consent of the other;
(2) except as provided in § 3-307(a)(4) of this subtitle, a sexual act with another if the victim is 14 or 15 years old, and the person performing the sexual act is at least 4 years older than the victim; or
(3) except as provided in § 3-307(a)(5) of this subtitle, vaginal intercourse with another if the victim is 14 or 15 years old, and the person performing the act is at least 4 years older than the victim.
(c) Sexual abuse of a minor student by a person in a position of authority.-
(1) Except as provided in § 3-307(a)(4) of this subtitle or subsection (b)(2) of this section, a person in a position of authority may not engage in a sexual act or sexual contact with a minor who, at the time of the sexual act or sexual contact, is a student enrolled at a school where the person in a position of authority is employed.
(2) Except as provided in § 3-307(a)(5) of this subtitle or subsection (b)(3) of this section, a person in a position of authority may not engage in vaginal intercourse with a minor who, at the time of the vaginal intercourse, is a student enrolled at a school where the person in a position of authority is employed.
Thanks for the research BigT. I missed the first half of that on a few of the websites I searched. That explains it perfectly!
Dewey is a great guy. The girl came on to him.. no matter how wrong it was for him not to have said no! THEY DIDNT MEET AT SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was not one of her teachers.. and this is being blown way out of hand. This guys life is pretty much over because of a stupid decision(s) The girl is almost 18.. and yes it was wrong.. but there should be different punishments for different ages.. its not like the girl was 14 AND didnt know what she was doing… she did it more than once.. HELLOOOOO!!
Big t nice work. the law is the law regardless’ how we would like to portray it. 17 is 17 a minor in the state of maryland.
it does not change the fact’ the man is a pervert. old enough to know better and did it anyway.
hopefully he will be barred from teaching at any school’or school’s. it’s time to make ” hanging” legal.
Thread hijacked by GenerationY?
Wrong is wrong. Every teacher, doctor, police officer, socail worker, etc, is entrusted with a deeper responsibility, a trust, that can not be broken in spite of one’s base urges. They can’t dig a hole deep enough to put people like this in.
When you teenies get a little older, and put your own child’s welfare in the hands of a complete stranger, it will all become crystal clear. HELLOOOOOOO!!
I have to agree with Dell on this one. Whether or not she was coming on to him, or almost 18 or he wasn’t currently her teacher…he was still in the wrong. Teachers (not to mention other public officials tasked with out education, safety and well being) are held to a higher standard because of the power with which they are entrusted. Regardless of the student’s actions in this situation, he should have taken a step back and assessed his situation. If there were true feelings involved between the two, then he should have told her to wait until she was no longer in school and his authority as a teacher was no longer present to follow through on those feelings. By not taking his position with the full weight it deserves he should be punished. We owe too much of a debt to our children to allow such a egregious abuse of position to go unpunished. He may have been a wonderful teacher and a great guy all around, but a lapse in judgment such as the one he is accused can not be excused.
Wonder if there were true feelings between him and the other girl he was with too.
Or maybe he thought he was on a reality show, and the two 17-year olds were competing to be his prom date?
In all seriousness, as a parent, this pisses me off, and I hope they throw the book at him, true feelings or not. I’m not much older than this guy, and it sickens me. He chose the wrong profession if he wanted to mess around with teenagers legally.
Maybe he thought he was Matthew McConaghey from “Dazed and Confused.”
Wooderson: Man, it’s the same bullsh*t they tried to pull in my day. If it ain’t that piece of paper, there’s some other choice they’re gonna try and make for you. You gotta do what Randall Pink Floyd wants to do man. Let me tell you this, the older you do get the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’ man, L-I-V-I-N.
Wow, talk about a school going down the drain. Not only is the area being filled with junk, they are still allowing junk to teach at the school. What is this…? The THIRD pedophile that taught at this school? Ashamed to say I went to CMW.
I won’t be surprised when I see a few more names that pop up… When my friends and I had heard there was another pedophile at the school, we all said three different names. Talk about a failed screening process.
Love how the high school youth is defending this dirt bag too. You have to be kidding me. No matter how you look at this, it is immoral and disgustingly wrong.
pat it is interesting as too the hireing process,back ground check’s are done finger print’s are taken. & yet the pedophile still manage’s to slip in.or are they true pedophile’s.
I suppose the next step is. a complete 90 session from a board certified psychiatrist. and I’am willing too bet they still slip thru.
cmw has been slipping for a long time. I was asked 30+ years ago too come to work there to put a stop to some of the evening vandalism that took place there. after being treated as the criminal in bel air high school. I declined the offer and headed to aberdeen. where it is crime free. to continue my delayed pursuit of happiness.
seriously pat I give the guy’s at aberdeen p.d. a hard time on the dagger. but they do a decent job. with what they have.
he was a [edited] creeper and that [edited] bitch is a slut, obviously.. likee ew you skeezers, who [edited] a teacher and bragging about it makes it even worse? nasty.
not too mention the worst biology teacher i’ve ever had. at least now he’s gone i’m passing =)
Wow J;
Where di you go to school? Are you at CMW? Hey Mark, are yo looking at this stuff?
BIG T SAYS IT ALL…but lets have the trial…due process…and be fair.
yeah cmw and whos mark
UH , J? I was commenting on a different thread to a DIFFERENT J .Oh yes- you are not the only person with that first initial- who knew? But of course you might know that had you bothered to actually read my comment.
Apology accepted.
this guys is a nasty FREAK. he deserves every punishment that he gets.
& i hope he gets [edited] in jail.
[edited]
this nasty ass dirtball is a FREAK. the girl who was [edited] him is a dirty [edited]. & a dumb smut not to mention. since she found it ammusing to tell everyone what was goin on in her sketchy life.
i hope this guys gets [edited] in jail.
& i hope it hurts so good. =)
The Dagger would like to formally thank the students of C. Milton Wright for taking time out of their busy school day to entertain us with your thoughtful and poignant commentary about this issue.
We would just ask them to refrain from the personal attacks and bad language.
Dear Dagger,
Do you have a MySpace page, and will you invite me to be one of your friends? PLZ?!!!! We could be BFFs. That’d be sooo coool! I think Justin Timberlake is awesome, do you? That girl we have in our Social Studies class thinks she’s all that, but she’s soooo fake.
Do you have any gum? I ate a bagel for breakfast and my breath stinks!!!
For all you kiddies – http://www.myspace.com/daggerpress
For all you cool college kids – http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dagger/6820631590
For those of you who live and die by text messaging – http://www.twitter.com/daggerpress
For everyone else – http://www.daggerpress.com
🙂
thnx dggr! rotflol
I wonder how similar this case is the another one involving a different CMW teacher in his late 20’s who was arrested n the same charges a few years ago:
http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/statesAttorney/press.cfm?ID=32
and the result from him pleading guilty:
http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/statesAttorney/press.cfm?ID=37
Looks like the precedent is there for Mr. Vasses to easily get off (pun intended)
Also interesting to note from the second link this quote – “The defedant will receive counselling and regfister as a sex offender.” No, I’m not talking about the spelling mistakes. I searched the MD state sex offender registry, and could not find the teacher’s name anywhere.
nothing comes up on a md judiciary case search for him either.
hmmm… It’s there. There are 2 cases, the sex abuse and a divorce that came soon after.
ha! do you search on: http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us ?
i still don’t see it.
nevermind–can’t spell 🙂
-I don’t have much faith. in cassilly accomplishing anything. more than likely will get a pat on the back. a good job well done. and set free to do it again. but we do agree according to his warrant. it was a perverted sex act.which in turn should be rewarded with no less than a ”hanging”. which is not going to happen.
which in turn most often mean’s they are turned free to do it again. so ”castration” would be the next choice.my baby sister’s attacker is a live and well” waiting….. to attack again. or maybe he has the victim being to young to say”
Pat, you mentioned that Dewey was the 3rd pedaphile to teach at this school. I’m aware of Zapola’s case but when/who was the other case?
hey V V–i’m not disagreeing with you that this guy sucks. i definitely want him punished to the full extent of the law.
i just wanted to acknowledge that the word “perverted” is slightly charged and may not mean exactly what you are thinking. it’s pretty much oral sex (which, if worthy of a hanging, get me a noose).
joking aside, i think it’s important to also acknowledge, when assessing his crime or making comparisons to your sister’s (obviously horrific) attacker, that this was a nonviolent crime.
so to me, the issue isn’t really about what they did, or any type of physical coersion–it’s about a teacher abusing his position of authority and taking advantage of students in a predatory way. because consent of not–i don’t think a 17 year old is equipped to look objectively at the “cool” teacher’s attentions and make a decision that won’t haunt her.
i think this dude is mad disgusting and the girls he had sex with are disgusting too. they are really gross for having sex with a 30 year old haha ew
make me throw up please…
im disgusted
you ruined your own lives…HA sucks…. karma is a bitch
have a grreat life whores and the 30 year old pimp
oh and [edited]…its nuthin to brag about
and [edited]…we all know your the other skank involed…you think other ppl have issues? look at urself homegirl DAMN! ahhhh!!!!!!
get a life
PEACE! ahahahaa
and if my personal attack is deleted then screw you they deserve to have their lives ruined becos their whores
kthnx! BYE
Maybe we should do an investigation of the English teachers at CMW?
Man, just realized that I’m getting old… 🙁
hit you too, huh? the part where being with a 30-year-old made her want to throw up? i just started checking my face for wrinkles.
Being with somebody twice her age SHOULD make her cringe a little. I’m not hitting the personals page criusing for 80 year olds…..
In all seriousness, thanks for editing. Dagger doesn’t need that stuff.
OOPS!! Better investigate NHHS English teachers…I couldn’t spell “cruising.”
im yo momma.. and u guyz r gay
Hmmm
amen I agree we should have drawn & quartered him, then removed the family ”jewels”.your right’ it is about abuse of authority etc.
maryland school’s seem to be drawing alot of this type of person.
but what is sad” is our decent law abideing teachers. have too deal with this garbage.
then there was the incident at apg. a few years ago. the D.i’s were abuseing the female recruit’s sexually.
aberdeen does not need any more bad publicity.
this dude was a [edit]…. he thought he was a hardass cuz he was “the big, bad wrestling coach” ooooh intimidating…..
nd dot blame CMW for pieces of [edit] like this bein allowed in…. he seemd normal to me too…til i heard about this… CMDUB is still a good school…jus w has sum [edit] in it… like this dude
I’m so sorry but after reading the blogs on this topic, What scares me the most is how illiterate and uneducated these children who are replying sound.
Dewey was a great wrestling coach and a good teacher. He made a stupid mistake but lets not destroy the rest of his life because of it. Everyone deserves a second chance.
you know … I would NEVER try to justify what this guy did. I have a 12 year old daughter in middle school and, Lord help me if one of her teachers did something like this BUT … where are the parents of these girls? Do they not care where their kids are going or what they’re doing or who they’re doing it with? I also have a 17, almost 18, year old son, and a 14 year old son. I know where they are, who they’re going with, and what they’re doing! We have a sort of “kid watch” around here in Havre de Grace. Most of us know each other so, if a kid is out doing something they shouldn’t be doing or they’re with someone questionable, we call each other and get the word to the parents. My daughter would NOT be going unpunished in a case such as this! The girls who had sex with this teacher knew exactly what they were doing! Seems there needs to be more “kid watches” going on in the rest of Harford County!!
As for the teacher … he should not be allowed to teach anymore, any where! He did it once, he’ll do it again! Someone needs to make sure these freaks are registering on the pedophile lists as well! It’s funny how that list is supposed to help stop this kind of stuff but yet, there’s many names that should be on them that aren’t there!!
I didn’t have him as a teacher but I would kindly say hi to him in the hallway pretty much everyday. Then he would start messing with me and joke around like we were best frineds! it was kinda strange but i didn’t think much of it. Then one day I saw him out in public and it was definitely evident that there was something wrong with him with the way he acted when he saw me…..cool guy at first but def. a creeper!
HIs trial is on 12/15/08…anyone planning to attend?
“yo mamma on March 14th, 2008 10:30 am i think this dude is mad disgusting and the girls he had sex with are disgusting too. they are really gross for having sex with a 30 year old haha ew
make me throw up please…
im disgusted”
Its not the age …30 is not old…approaching old….its the point that you dont mess with somone you have influance over and the more important point that the kids are minors. If he was 19 and picking some HS girl of 15 3/4 up after school its the same thing.
GD!
Many high school aged girls look up to their teachers and idolize them. This student/teacher relationship can lend itself to inappropriate behavior. It is the responsibility of the teacher to realize that this can happen and prevent any misconduct and taking advantage of the situation.