A former teacher at D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison Friday. Mark Williams was convicted in February of sexually abusing a former student in about 2014 at the acclaimed Georgetown high school.
His criminal trial followed a 2022 investigation by the News4 I-Team that centered on two former students who said Williams abused them a decade apart. The first woman said she was sexually involved with Williams while she was his student in 2004; the other woman said she was abused about a decade later.
The two women who brought forward allegations against Williams delivered victim impact statements Friday, telling the judge the abuse led to years of emotional suffering and substance abuse.
On Friday, he said following his resignation from the school in 2019 due to personal challenges, he lost his family and career. Before he was sentenced, Williams didn’t apologize but, after quoting writings by James Baldwin, said: “I do feel a price has been paid.”
The I-Team found complaints about the teacher were made to the school, the school district and police in 2004 and 2018, but Williams didn’t face charges at the time. Following the I-Team’s reporting, D.C. police assigned a new detective to investigate the allegations. The second former student’s allegations were the subject of Williams’ criminal trial.
Williams testified in his defense during the February trial and claimed some explicit emails he exchanged with the teen were writing exercises. She testified they engaged in sex acts in and outside of the school.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
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