AUSTIN, Texas — A former Wimberley ISD teacher filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against some Hays County sheriff office officials, the Hays County district attorney and some Wimberley ISD staff claiming he was framed by multiple school and law enforcement officials to end his teaching career.
"I had spent years trying to find the best ways to serve my community and teaching is what, you know, I was called to ultimately," said David Schachter.
Schachter said his 20-year teaching career was ripped away.
He's suing for wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution.
"The hope is to get the truth out there," said Schachter.
According to the lawsuit, he was falsely accused and prosecuted for Class C misdemeanor assault by offensive contact.
In 2022, two female students in his Danforth Junior High School classroom accused him of inappropriately touching them. Schachter was acquitted by a jury in 2023.
"It was malicious and purposeful to ruin his career," said civil rights attorney Rebecca Webber.
Webber, who's representing Schachter, said the investigation was botched and inflamed by rumors from some school leaders, which she said she now has evidence of from the body camera footage of one of the school resource officers.
"They should have been interviewed immediately by trained child interview interviewers," said Webber. "No. 2, the detective didn't interview any of the other students in the class. So you know, this could have immediately just been put to bed, like, OK, no one saw it. It couldn't have happened. There's 26 people in this room and no one saw anything like this."
According to the lawsuit, Schachter is suing the school's then-principal, claiming she gave false and misleading statements to a Hays County deputy who served as the school's resource officer. Those statements were then allegedly passed along to other officials as part of an agreement to prevent him from teaching again.
Schachter said life for his family, including his wife and young son, never went back to normal, even after being found not guilty and getting his criminal record expunged.
"Which certainly didn't get the kind of media coverage that the initial accusations and arrest created," said Schachter.
He said his mug shot and articles about him were still all over the internet, impacting daily life. Right now, Schachter's teaching license is still being reviewed by the Texas Education Agency.
"In spite of the fact that I was found not guilty," said Schachter. "In spite of the fact that CPS gave us a special hearing, reviewed all the materials and ruled out reason to believe and overturn their findings."
Schachter said he has no hope of restarting his teaching career because of the allegations but he does want to clear his name.
Schachter said for the longest his family feared for their safety and was harassed. Last year, he was finally able to find a job as a manager at a storage place.
"I did so much good and I changed so many lives, and to know that a this is my legacy now and done through no choice of my own," said Schachter. "Yeah, it makes me extremely upset and extremely grief-filled."
According to the lawsuit, Schachter has requested a jury trial. He's seeking damages for lost wages, mental anguish and for allegedly having his rights violated.
KVUE reached out to Hays County and Wimberly ISD. Both declined to comment.