Substitute Teacher Accused of Sex Crime Will Return to Court May 22

The longtime Farmington Public Schools substitute teacher accused of criminal sexual conduct will return to 47th District Court on May 22 for a preliminary exam, according to an article in the Observer & Eccentric.

As Farmington-Farmington Hills Patch previously reported, Andrew Montgomery Howell, 58, of Farmington Hills faces a charge of criminal sexual conduct in the 2nd Degree.

Howell was arrested on March 27 after an incident reported to have occurred during school hours at Hillside Elementary School. In a district-wide list serv statement sent on Friday, Farmington Public Schools Superintendent Sue Zurvalec said district officials were notified on March 19 of a "complaint alleging inappropriate conduct". 

The statement noted Howell was immediately blocked from substituting in the district; he had been a substitute teacher for 25 years, police said.

According to the Observer & Eccentric, Howell is being held on a $1 million bond in the Oakland County Jail.

Retired teacher Judy Day, a friend of Howell's for more than 30 years, also told the newspaper that Howell had told her that "he had placed the student on his lap to console her because she was crying."