Mark Williams biography: 13 things about former Duke Ellington School of the Arts teacher

Mark A. Williams is an American man who used to work at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Northwest, Washington, D.C., United States as a teacher. Mitzi Yates Lizarraga was the school’s principal from 2000 to 2005 and Rory Pullens was the head of school from 2005 to 2014.

Williams is accused of having inappropriate relationships with at least two girls while they were attending the school. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In the spring of 2003, a girl, then 15, sought admission to Duke Ellington School of the Arts’ Literary Media Arts Department while he was the chair of the department. He accepted her and suggested that she participate in private sessions with him over the summer, which allegedly led to sexual abuse.
2. In 2004, Duke Ellington School of the Arts administrators received a report about his inappropriate relationship with the student, then 16, placed him on temporary administrative leave and removed her from his classroom.
3. In 2005, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts student, then 17, he was in a relationship with graduated from the school. Their relationship continued into her college years.
4. In 2008, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts graduate, then 20, he was in a relationship with broke up with him. He sent him an email apologizing for her “being a secret” and telling her he loved her “so very much”.
5. In 2015, he allegedly started a relationship with another female Duke Ellington School of the Arts student, then 15.
6. In 2016, he allegedly continued his relationship with the second Duke Ellington School of the Arts student, then 16.
7. In 2017, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts student, then 17, he was allegedly in a relationship with graduated from the school. After her graduation, they allegedly started having sex that year.
8. In 2018, he allegedly sent messages to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts graduate, then 18, telling her he was being investigated about their inappropriate relationship. That year, the school placed him on administrative leave.
9. In January 2019, he resigned from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts while he was under investigation.
10. In 2020, the girl he allegedly had sex with in 2017 reported their inappropriate relationship to the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), which was forwarded to police. A detective contacted her to tell her that her sexual encounter with him was not against the law because she was no longer his student and she had turned 17.
11. In 2021, he was arrested on one charge of first-degree child sex abuse. He pleaded not guilty in his first appearance in court.
12. On February 17, 2022, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts student he allegedly sexually abused from 2003 to 2005 filed a lawsuit against him, Yates, Pullens, the school and the DCPS. The plaintiff failed to file proof of service so the case against him was dismissed without prejudice.
13. On November 19, 2023, he was arrested at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, USA. He is in custody in Anne Arundel County and will be extradited to Washington, D.C.