Matthew Chapin, 48, of Otisville, faces 18 charges: three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, 13 counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of assault and battery, according to the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office. The case will be heard before Judge Elizabeth A. Kelly.

Chapin has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Matthew Norwood, said in a statement that Chapin “plans to defend these and all allegations in court.”

The charges

Prosecutors first charged Chapin in June with five counts of criminal sexual conduct after a former student came forward alleging she was assaulted in 2016, when she was a sixth-grader at LakeVille Middle School. Court records say the alleged victim was under 13 at the time.

During a preliminary examination, the woman testified that she had been struggling in Chapin’s science class when he offered private tutoring, and that the alleged abuse began during those sessions and escalated. She said she did not report it for years because she felt ashamed, and eventually went to police after confiding in her aunt and a counselor.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said each of the original counts relates to a separate incident, and that the alleged conduct took place inside the classroom.

After news of the charges aired, five more women contacted the prosecutor’s office. Leyton asked Michigan State Police to reopen the investigation and in late July authorized 13 additional charges. He said the newest allegations involve conduct between 2012 and 2016 at the middle school.

Chapin was jailed on $100,000 bond per count after his initial arraignment, then released on a reduced bond with a GPS tether in late July. He was taken back into custody following the new charges, according to people familiar with the case. Norwood has said state police investigated the allegations against Chapin in 2021 and that no charges were filed until the day of his release on bond.

A prior resignation and a letter of recommendation

Chapin worked for LakeVille from 2011 to 2016. Documents reviewed by Lapeer First News correspondant Heather Smith, who has been researching the case, show that before arriving at LakeVille, Chapin was a principal in the Adrian Public Schools in Lenawee County.

According to Smith, the Adrian Board of Education held a special meeting on March 24, 2010, to address allegations against Chapin, and the district and Chapin reached a separation agreement under which he resigned. Smith said the allegations discussed at that meeting included inappropriate text messages with students and driving a student to a medical appointment without parental consent.

One week later, on March 31, 2010, then-Superintendent Chris Timmis signed a letter of recommendation for Chapin, Smith said. In a statement to the press at the time, Timmis said no negative inference should be drawn from the resignation and that the two sides had simply decided to part ways.

Smith said Chapin was subsequently offered a position by Whitmore-Prescott Area Schools in Iosco County, but that the district’s board rescinded the offer at a special meeting on Aug. 17, 2010, roughly five days after his final interview, based on information it had learned.

On Jan. 13, 2011, Chapin applied to LakeVille and submitted the Adrian letter of recommendation with his application, Smith said. At the time, LakeVille’s superintendent was his mother, who led the district from 2008 to 2016. She later served as a trustee on the LakeVille Board of Education from 2024 until this summer.

The Adrian and Whitmore-Prescott districts have not publicly commented on their handling of Chapin’s employment.

Internal investigation in 2016

Records obtained by Smith show LakeVille conducted an internal investigation that was completed in July 2016. According to those records, students began raising concerns with staff at the start of the 2015-16 school year. The investigation identifies more than 20 people by name and refers to several dozen others.

Students who described concerns ranged from sixth through 12th grade, reflecting Chapin’s assignments in both the middle school and high school. The high school principal at the time led the inquiry after high school students raised concerns about what might be happening to younger students, Smith said.

The records describe students who reported feeling that their concerns were being heard by teachers but not by administrators because of Chapin’s mother’s position. Some students said that after they spoke up, Chapin gave them disciplinary write-ups and removed them from class. Several teachers who went on record resigned afterward, Smith said.

Smith also said she obtained an email from a middle school administrator stating that she had revised a written evaluation of Chapin after the superintendent directed her to remove a paragraph. The removed language stated that Chapin had been instructed on more than one occasion to stay out of a student’s personal space. The email said the superintendent warned the district could face a defamation claim if the paragraph remained.

Chapin’s mother could not be reached for comment. After the charges became public, she stopped attending board meetings and her name was removed from the district’s website.

Community impact

LakeVille Community Schools, based in Otisville, serves a rural area of northeastern Genesee County. Smith said the district’s enrollment has fallen from more than 1,700 students to just over 1,000 in recent years.

The district has a new administration. Superintendent James Yake said in June that Chapin had not worked for the district in more than 10 years and encouraged anyone with information to contact law enforcement.

Smith said she and several witnesses have raised concerns that Michigan law does not require school districts to notify families when an employee resigns or is let go amid misconduct allegations. Under current practice, personnel matters can be handled in closed session at the employee’s discretion.

Under Michigan law, there is no statute of limitations for first-degree criminal sexual conduct. First-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a victim under 13 carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison.

Leyton said his office believes there may be additional victims and urged them to come forward, noting that survivor support and mental health services are available through the YWCA of Greater Flint.

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Today, September 1, 2026 will be our first episode of Lapeer First News, a live weekly local news podcast featuring local and state political issues that affect Lapeer County residents.

Our goal is to strengthen the Lapeer County community through effective and entertaining reporting on local issues that affect you. We aim to tell the stories that others can’t or won’t so that you can be well informed.

Today we will discuss two major stories in Lapeer County — an upcoming criminal trial of a former employee of Lakeville Schools and the recently resigned Lapeer City Manager Mike Womack.

Host Scott McMahan will be joined by Lapeer First News correspondent Heather Scott, Lapeer Mayor Jeramy Hing, and John DeAngelis.