Ex-Wayne County School Eye Doctor Sexually Assaults Students: Lawsuit

WAYNE COUNTY, MI — A former vision specialist from Plymouth sexually assaulted multiple young girls during eye exams at three different Wayne County schools, prosecutors said.

James Adam Baird, 43, was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Baird was arraigned in Westland and given a $100,000 personal bond and must wear a GPS tether, if released from jail. He was also arraigned in Garden City given a $15,000 personal bond and must wear a GPS tether, if released from jail. His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 9.

Prosecutors said Baird sexually assaulted at least four visually impaired girls between the ages of 10 and 15 years old at three different Wayne County schools from 2018 to 2020.

The first incident happened in January 2018, when prosecutors said Baird sexually assaulted a then-10-year-old Garden City girl multiple times while administering vision tests at Douglas Elementary School.

Two months later, prosecutors said Baird blindfolded a then-13-year-old Westland girl and sexually assaulted her during a vision test at Marshall Upper Elementary School.

A year later in 2019, prosecutors said Baird again blindfolded and sexually assaulted another student at Douglas Elementary School in Garden City during an eye exam, this time a then-11-year-old Dearborn girl.

Baird was again accused by prosecutors of blindfolding and sexually assaulting a then 15-year-old Wayne girl at Stevenson Middle School in Westland in 2020 during an eye exam.