Mill Valley School District to order sexual abuse inquiry

The Mill Valley School District is planning an independent investigation following sexual abuse allegations against a teacher and his subsequent death.

“We’re trying to move forward in a very complicated time,” Elizabeth Kaufman, the district superintendent, said during a public forum on the issue on May 6. “We have some pretty horrific and tragic situations.”

Darren Michael Smith, 55, of Fairfax was arrested by Marin County sheriff’s investigators on April 30. Authorities alleged that he molested two children at Strawberry Point Elementary School.

Smith, a music teacher, was booked into the Marin County Jail and released after posting $200,000 bail. The next afternoon, authorities found Smith’s body floating in the ocean about 2.5 miles from the Drakes Beach parking lot at Point Reyes National Seashore. Investigators think his surfboard washed ashore a few hours later.

Smith was hired at the Mill Valley School District in 2013. He taught music to children from kindergarten through fifth grade. Smith had been placed on administrative leave since March 28, when the district first contacted law enforcement about the alleged crimes.

The county coroner’s office is still investigating the cause of death. In the meantime, the sheriff’s office has paused its criminal investigation, Detective Sgt. Hugh Baker said at the forum.

Baker said he could not provide specifics about the case, except to confirm that the alleged crimes took place during school hours at the Strawberry campus.

He said the death of Smith was “both a blessing and a curse” in that the alleged victims would not be subjected to the court system, but that they and their families might not get the closure they want.

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office, which filed charges against Smith after his arrest, dropped the case after his death.

“There will be no verdict of guilt or innocence,” Baker said. He said he expects to get the final coroner’s report in three or four weeks.

Baker said he and the investigation team are open to receive additional disclosures from other potential victims.

“If they want to file a report and document it, we can provide that opportunity,” he said.

The children who come forward are interviewed by psychologists at the Jeannette Prandi Children’s Center who specialize in those types of cases, Baker said.

Kaufman told parents that an attorney, Jaspreet Lochab-Dogra, will serve as district counsel to oversee a probe by a neutral third party. The investigation will look at the circumstances, policies and procedures in place at the school, where the alleged incidents occurred between January and March.

“We will do interviews, look at evidence,” Lochab-Dogra said. “We will provide updates as we are able.”

She had no estimate on how long the investigation would take.

Kaufman, a mother herself, said she knows firsthand how it feels to parents to give their children into the care of another. She said confidentiality is the top priority for any child or family involved.

She added that the probe will seek to look at all circumstances, not ruling out interviewing graduates of the district who are now participating in music programs at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.

“As students leave our music program, many of them enter TUHSD programs,” Kaufman said, referring to the Tamalpais Union High School District.

“We followed all the safety protocols and procedures,” Kaufman added. “And it was the kids who came forward.”