Posted on 09/12/2004 6:13:12 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Ex-DeSoto teacher sentenced to prison
DALLAS (AP) — A former De Soto junior high school teach er has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student.
Timothy Munday, a 30-year-old former English teacher at DeSoto East Junior High School, was convicted on Aug. 25 on a single first-degree felony charge involving one girl. But six other former students came forward in the punishment phase of his trial to accuse him of affairs or improper behavior.
The girl in the case, who is now 16, said the 2002 attack occurred after Munday encouraged her to sneak out of her home.
She testified that he picked her up and that the two drove to his apartment, where the sexual assault occurred. The girl said she did not tell anyone initially.
According to court records, the girl told her mother about the assault after Munday was arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting another student. He has been indicted in that case and on a sexual assault charge connected to a third student, although the jury did not hear any testimony involving those allegations.
Some of Munday's former students testified on his behalf, describing him as having a rare talent to inspire and motivate his students.
"He's been the most influential teacher I've had, period, even to this day," said Jeremy Mullendare, a former student who was not a victim.
Munday faced up to life in prison for the first-degree felony charge. By law he must serve at least half of his eight-year sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.
Rather than knowledge of subject, administrators increasingly look most favorably on teachers who can "inspire and motivate his students." Perhaps sometimes "all that glitters is not gold."
Let him practice his rare talent and inspriational leadership in jail where it is sorely needed.
I think there is an gurney in Huntsville that is not being used right now.
I don't think there is much need for ex-Desoto teachers, let's make him ex-Life (as in "exit" Life). IIRC, when I was a mere youth, rape was a capital offense.
I don't see how this would do any good now that a year as passed, but I was looking for articles about his sentencing and happened to find these comments.
I was one of his students the year he was accused. It was my first semester with him [as opposed to a year, as he was removed mid second semester with paid leave] and he had a wonderful talent of making us feel comfortable enough to express ourselves academically in ways we may have held back before. He did inspire us and prior to having him as my teacher he had a well known reputation for conducting the class every student wished to be in. He also knew his material very well and taught us many things I can recall in great detail today.
I also knew the student who accused him, and while she didn't seem like a person who would lie about something so serious I still find myself unsure about believing her. Unless Mr. Munday ever comes out and openly admits to committing the acts he was accused of, I will remain skeptical about the case.
Everyone in the ISD knew he had a close bond with his students (one the new principal was a bit worried about, of course) which I think was widely misunderstood. I don't know if he did everything these students are accusing him of doing, but if he didn't they've done a wonderful job of ruining a rewarding career for him and a chance to be interested in school again for future junior high schoolers.
However, if he truly did commit every single act thrown at him, then I find myself worried about the time I was around him and hoping a bit of jail time will change his ways.
Scotch Brand, thank you for posting what you did. I doubt you'll ever see this, but on the off chance that you revisit this site, I wanted you to know I appreciate the time you took to write.
I just found out yesterday that Tim was sentenced to jail. Tim was a good friend all through high school and college, and I am absolutely blown away that something like this happened. The last time we spoke (before this mess), he showed me stacks of letters and emails he'd received from his students and their parents praising his efforts and thanking him for his hard work. He took out yearbooks and showed me pictures of his current and previous students, detailing things each had said in class or a funny or touching anecdote. He loved being a teacher.
Frankly, the first posts to this story are the same knee-jerk reaction I've had to countless other articles on convicted child molestors. It's different, however, when you know one of the people behind the story. This is just incredibly sad.
Mr. Munday is my former teacher. I was randomly looking up information about him and stumbled on this site. It’s still incredibly unfortunate that this happened.
Mr. Munday taught gifted students at DeSoto East Jr. High, and I was in his class during my 7th and 8th grade years (this was in 1998-2000). He was truly an amazing teacher. He possessed a talent for connecting with students, motivating them, and challenging them academically. We read a lot in his class. I remember the gifted program at the time was centered around assigning a lot of creative projects and assignments that involved critical thinking. He excelled in having us care about the content and develop a strong work ethic. Every single student I knew during both years LOVED Mr. Munday. I work in education today and I still use his education methods as a standard.
For example, I remember during 8th grade, all of the advanced English classes (led by Mr. Munday and two other teachers) got together and did the same study on literary archetypes. The method? Watching the first 3 “Star Wars” films and analyzing them. It was a great way to introduce the concept to students and even years later, everyone remembered what they learned and was able to successfully apply it to what we read.
I also remember he gave out these certificates deemed “character awards” to all of the 8th graders on the last day of school. I still have mine.
All of this aside, I remember being devastated to learn that he was being charged with molesting students. But all of us were not surprised, not as surprised as we should have been. We all thought he interacted a little inappropriately with some of the girls. Mr. Munday was a young teacher, and he looked younger. He was nice and funny, and he was that way with all of his students. But it sometimes got a little weird. I remember he made one of my friends a little uneasy when he said something about wanting to date her if he was our age. Initially, most of his former students defended him. But the older we got, the more we realized how young and impressionable jr. high school students are and how easily they can be manipulated. Mr. Munday did not behave inappropriately with all of his female students, or even most of them. I never knew a lot about the evidence in this case, but I will say that when we all first learned about it, it was much too easy to convince us that it was true.
The worst part is that he was a very good teacher. Even today, the youngest of his former students are pretty much done with college, and I bet he remains one of the best teachers any of us ever had. It’s heartbreaking that he used his position as a teacher and leader, as well for his charisma and love for students, to tarnish his reputation forever and to hurt young girls. I’ve longed to speak with him and ask him what happened, WHY? He could have helped, motivated and inspired so many more kids over the years, but he no longer deserves that privilege.
Mr. Munday is my former teacher. I was randomly looking up information about him and stumbled on this site. It’s still incredibly unfortunate that this happened.
Mr. Munday taught gifted students at DeSoto East Jr. High, and I was in his class during my 7th and 8th grade years (this was in 1998-2000). He was truly an amazing teacher. He possessed a talent for connecting with students, motivating them, and challenging them academically. We read a lot in his class. I remember the gifted program at the time was centered around assigning a lot of creative projects and assignments that involved critical thinking. He excelled in having us care about the content and develop a strong work ethic. Every single student I knew during both years LOVED Mr. Munday. I work in education today and I still use his education methods as a standard.
For example, I remember during 8th grade, all of the advanced English classes (led by Mr. Munday and two other teachers) got together and did the same study on literary archetypes. The method? Watching the first 3 “Star Wars” films and analyzing them. It was a great way to introduce the concept to students and even years later, everyone remembered what they learned and was able to successfully apply it to what we read.
I also remember he gave out these certificates deemed “character awards” to all of the 8th graders on the last day of school. I still have mine.
All of this aside, I remember being devastated to learn that he was being charged with molesting students. But all of us were not surprised, not as surprised as we should have been. We all thought he interacted a little inappropriately with some of the girls. Mr. Munday was a young teacher, and he looked younger. He was nice and funny, and he was that way with all of his students. But it sometimes got a little weird. I remember he made one of my friends a little uneasy when he said something about wanting to date her if he was our age. Initially, most of his former students defended him. But the older we got, the more we realized how young and impressionable jr. high school students are and how easily they can be manipulated. Mr. Munday did not behave inappropriately with all of his female students, or even most of them. I never knew a lot about the evidence in this case, but I will say that when we all first learned about it, it was much too easy to convince us that it was true.
The worst part is that he was a very good teacher. Even today, the youngest of his former students are pretty much done with college, and I bet he remains one of the best teachers any of us ever had. It’s heartbreaking that he used his position as a teacher and leader, as well for his charisma and love for students, to tarnish his reputation forever and to hurt young girls. I’ve longed to speak with him and ask him what happened, WHY? He could have helped, motivated and inspired so many more kids over the years, but he no longer deserves that privilege.
Mr. Munday is my former teacher. I was randomly looking up information about him and stumbled on this site. It’s still incredibly unfortunate that this happened.
Mr. Munday taught gifted students at DeSoto East Jr. High, and I was in his class during my 7th and 8th grade years (this was in 1998-2000). He was truly an amazing teacher. He possessed a talent for connecting with students, motivating them, and challenging them academically. We read a lot in his class. I remember the gifted program at the time was centered around assigning a lot of creative projects and assignments that involved critical thinking. He excelled in having us care about the content and develop a strong work ethic. Every single student I knew during both years LOVED Mr. Munday. I work in education today and I still use his education methods as a standard.
For example, I remember during 8th grade, all of the advanced English classes (led by Mr. Munday and two other teachers) got together and did the same study on literary archetypes. The method? Watching the first 3 “Star Wars” films and analyzing them. It was a great way to introduce the concept to students and even years later, everyone remembered what they learned and was able to successfully apply it to what we read.
I also remember he gave out these certificates deemed “character awards” to all of the 8th graders on the last day of school. I still have mine.
All of this aside, I remember being devastated to learn that he was being charged with molesting students. But all of us were not surprised, not as surprised as we should have been. We all thought he interacted a little inappropriately with some of the girls. Mr. Munday was a young teacher, and he looked younger. He was nice and funny, and he was that way with all of his students. But it sometimes got a little weird. I remember he made one of my friends a little uneasy when he said something about wanting to date her if he was our age. Initially, most of his former students defended him. But the older we got, the more we realized how young and impressionable jr. high school students are and how easily they can be manipulated. Mr. Munday did not behave inappropriately with all of his female students, or even most of them. I never knew a lot about the evidence in this case, but I will say that when we all first learned about it, it was much too easy to convince us that it was true.
The worst part is that he was a very good teacher. Even today, the youngest of his former students are pretty much done with college, and I bet he remains one of the best teachers any of us ever had. It’s heartbreaking that he used his position as a teacher and leader, as well for his charisma and love for students, to tarnish his reputation forever and to hurt young girls. I’ve longed to speak with him and ask him what happened, WHY? He could have helped, motivated and inspired so many more kids over the years, but he no longer deserves that privilege.
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