Parents whose children are involved in the case of a former Southfield Public Schools teacher charged with sexual assault involving students are speaking out.
Lamar Willis, a once-respected teacher at MacArthur University Academy K-8 is now accused of horrible crimes against students.
Willis is charged with four counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and three counts of Accosting a Minor for Immoral Purposes, and he was arraigned earlier this month and given a $15,000 personal bond.
"I was upset. I was highly upset. And I was concerned about, you know, my kids and my kid's friends and all the kids in the school," one parent, Mary, said.
"My child said he ran his hand down her back and touched her bra clasp and she felt very uncomfortable. After she felt uncomfortable with that incident, then she avoided going back to that classroom," Mary added.
After working for Southfield Public Schools for years, 41-year-old Willis resigned over the summer as the investigation into his behavior with students intensified.
Children told Lathrup Village police investigators that Willis would make girls sit on his lap just about every day. They also allege he would even force some students into engaging in sexual activity with each other, and if they didn't go far enough, he allegedly told them to leave his classroom.
"You start talking about things like how to have sex and how to show different types of pleasure, it's kind of like, whoa. And the kids all classified it as weird," another parent, Felicia, said.
"It's hard for me to believe that no one had any knowledge because when I talked to my student, it was a running joke in the school that he was a pedophile," Mary said.
Felicia said there was an incident between her son and Willis that led to the investigation. She said Willis lost it when her son accidentally knocked over a lamp.
"He went off. He went to grab him. My son deflected him and it became like this big old altercation. My son immediately grabbed his things and left the classroom to go get the principal and assistant principal," Felicia said.
"But the kids were very startled by his display of aggression. And that's really what sparked everyone starting to talk about like, 'hey, what do you think about Mr. Willis?' Like, something's up with him," Felicia added.
An attorney for Willis has declined to comment.
The parents say they are thankful that the children spoke up and hope others do if they are ever in a situation where they feel uncomfortable.
"It was just very egregious. Like, it was very, very, very upsetting, but all you can do at this point is move forward. With the young ladies, my heart goes out to them and their families. That is horrible," Felicia said.
