(WWJ) – A man hired to help visually impaired students at several Metro Detroit schools, accused of sexually assaulting children, is having some charges against him dropped.
James Baird of Plymouth was charged in February in connection with the sexual assaults of two then-8-year-old Wayne County girls while he was working as a vision specialist at Douglas Elementary School.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Thursday "additional investigation that we requested from the Garden City Police Department was crucial to the decision in this case."
"We are certain that dismissing these charges was warranted. It is the right thing to do. We have no further comment, as there is pending civil litigation in connection with these matters," Worthy said in a press release.
Baird still has two cases out of Westland that are still active. Court hearings are scheduled for next month stemming from alleged incidents at Marshall Elementary School and Stevenson Middle School involving young teen girls.
In one case that was dropped in Garden City, prosecutors allege Baird sexually assaulted the then-8-year-old victim while administering vision tests on Jan. 4, 2018.
In the other case, he allegedly did the same to another 8-year-old girl on May 1, 2019.
He had been charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct of a person under 13 for both alleged incidents.
Visiting Judge Randy Kalmbach granted the motion to dismiss both cases against Mr. Baird on Wednesday.
In the Westland cases, he is accused of blindfolding and sexually assaulting a then-13-year-old girl at Marshall Elementary School in Westland on March 1, 2018. He was charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct of a person under 13 for that incident.
He was also charged with first-degree and second-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly doing the same to a then-15-year-old student at Stevenson Middle School in Westland on Feb. 11, 2020.
