By Carol Stiffler
A Newberry teacher has resigned after being confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct at school with students.
Social Studies teacher David DeVries, 60, of McMillan, was initially placed on leave by administration at Tahquamenon Area Schools (TAS) after a teacher witnessed an interaction between DeVries and a student on May 21, 2026. That interaction is detailed in a case report from the Luce County Sheriff Department, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
In the report, the teacher, whose name has not been revealed, overheard DeVries tell another student who was looking for her pencil that “The pencil can’t be in your pants because your pants are too tight.”
In the investigation that followed, a roster of 14 victims were identified and interviewed by Luce County Sheriff Deputy Nathan Bissonette. His report indicates the victims range in age from 10 to 13 years old. All are female.
In their interviews, they told Dep. Bissonette that DeVries had allegedly made them uncomfortable by giving some of them unsolicited shoulder and back rubs, touched girls’ thighs where their jeans were ripped, and made many comments about them being “cute”, “hot”, or looking good in their clothes. Some alleged they asked him to stop, without success. The events they described reportedly took place as recently as May 21, 2026, and began in 2024.
According to the police report, boys in the class reported being treated poorly while the girls were obviously favored.
Superintendent Shawn Tebo said DeVries resigned the morning of Thursday, June 4. DeVries taught at TAS for four years.
Tebo said her office investigated every incident that was reported during this school year. Deputy Bissonnette is confident that both his office and Tebo’s office acted expediently and to the best of their ability
The case has been presented to Schoolcraft County Prosecutor Tim Noble, who is out of the office this week and has not yet reviewed it. At this time, no charges have been filed in the case.
The Newberry News will continue to follow this story.
