A former Washington-Liberty High School substitute teacher will spend five years in prison after an Arlington County jury convicted him of taking indecent liberties with a student he met in 2022, when she was 16 years old. Timothy McGhee was sentenced Friday in Arlington County Circuit Court following a conviction that came only after an earlier trial ended in a hung jury.
McGhee was found guilty on Aug. 5 of taking indecent liberties with a minor in his custody or supervision, according to ArlNow, which reported that he will spend five years behind bars. Once released, he will serve three years of supervised probation with electronic monitoring, the outlet reported. As part of his sentence, McGhee must also register as a sex offender, complete sex offender treatment, have no contact with minors, and stay away from places where children are present.
A Relationship That Began in the Classroom
Prosecutors said McGhee met the student in 2022 while working as her long-term substitute teacher at Washington-Liberty High School, according to WJLA. He later became her private math tutor, and the relationship lasted about two years, with frequent contact both in and out of school, the station reported. The relationship began when the student was 16 and continued until December 2024, when she ended it shortly after turning 18, according to ArlNow.
Court documents alleged that McGhee initially exposed himself to the minor in his car while in a parking lot on N. Glebe Road, followed by multiple sexual encounters, ArlNow reported in its earlier coverage of the guilty verdict. Prosecutors also said the student accompanied McGhee on a trip to Chicago when she was 17, where the two allegedly engaged in sexual activity, according to the same report.
Investigation Launched Weeks After Relationship Ended
Police arrested McGhee the month after the relationship ended, in January 2025. According to Daily Voice, the investigation began on Jan. 3, 2025, after police received information about an inappropriate sexual relationship between McGhee and a juvenile female student at Washington-Liberty High School.
The case first went to trial in 2025 but ended in a mistrial when jurors deadlocked 8-4, unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The second trial, which lasted three days, concluded with the Aug. 5 guilty verdict.
Prosecutor Points to Breach of Trust
Arlington County Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said the trust placed in teachers and school employees is profound, according to the Arlington County Commonwealth's Attorney. Dehghani-Tafti thanked the student for her courage and credited investigators and prosecutors for their work on the case.
McGhee's conviction falls under Virginia Code § 18.2-370.1, which addresses taking indecent liberties with a child by a person in a custodial or supervisory relationship and sets out penalties for the offense.
The case echoes another recent Virginia prosecution involving a school employee. A former Frederick County substitute teacher who admitted to attempting to sexually abuse a child in his care was sentenced to more than four years in prison in April, according to the Winchester Star.
