A widely shared Facebook post accusing the co-owner of a Fort Thomas bookstore of abusing women and behaving inappropriately around girls has brought renewed attention to his departure from Kenton County Schools, the permanent s urrender of his teaching certificate and a pending civil case involving a former student.Ireland Mulcahy, 21, publicly accused her father, David Mulcahy, of years of emotional and verbal abuse, physical intimidation and sexually inappropriate behavior while she was growing up.David Mulcahy denies the accusations. His wife and business partner, Lacey Mulcahy, also says they are untrue.The couple owns The Hidden Chapter Bookstore in Fort Thomas. Ireland Mulcahy said she decided to publish her allegations after seeing social media posts from girls and young women who visited the store.WATCH: Daughter of NKY bookstore owner, former teacher alleges abuse; records reveal termination, surrender of teaching license NKY bookstore owner, former teacher denies daughters abuse accusationsI realized the problem was a lot bigger than just me and this isolated civil suit, Ireland Mulcahy told WCPO. I realized it was way bigger than that, so I put the post up on Facebook.The post generated hundreds of comments, messages and shares. Ireland said some people contacted her with their own allegations about her father.The points not to close the store down, Ireland said. The point is to prevent victims.Her accusations have not been proven in court. David Mulcahy has not been criminally charged in connection with the conduct described in his daughters post or in a separate civil lawsuit filed by the parent of a former student.However, a review of David Mulcahys personnel file and Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board records shows his departure from teaching involved more than a routine resignation or an investigation that ended without administrative action.What the personnel records showKenton County Schools hired David Mulcahy in July 2021 to teach social studies at Turkey Foot Middle School. His employment application showed he had previously worked for Grant County Schools and two school districts in Ohio.A child-abuse and neglect background check completed when Kenton County hired him indicated there was no reportable incident in Kentuckys registry at that time.On March 28, 2023, Superintendent Henry Webb notified Mulcahy that his limited teaching contract would not be renewed after the 2022-23 school year. That letter did not provide a reason.The district took additional action less than a month later.In an April 21, 2023, disciplinary letter, Webb wrote that the district had received a Substantiated Investigation Notification Letter from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The Cabinets notice was dated March 22, according to the personnel record.The underlying Cabinet investigative report is not included in the personnel file reviewed by WCPO. Consequently, the file does not reveal the complete evidence the Cabinet considered or precisely describe the conduct behind its substantiated finding.Webb wrote that Mulcahy was given an opportunity to respond during an April 20 due-process hearing. Before reaching a decision, Webb said he also reviewed Mulcahys preliminary statements, relevant policies and state regulations and consulted district staff and the school boards attorney.The superintendent determined Mulcahy had violated policies involving the professional code of ethics, student health and safety, sexually related behavior with students, unwanted touching or sexual advances, Title IX sexual harassment, disruption of the educational process and employees duty to exercise sound judgment.Webb ordered two disciplinary actions: termination and a report to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board, known as EPSB.The letter cited a Kentucky law permitting discipline for immoral character or conduct unbecoming a teacher.Other records create some ambiguity about how the district formally classified Mulcahys separation. The disciplinary letter calls it a termination, while an exit checklist identifies the action as a nonrenewal effective June 30, 2023.Mulcahy surrendered his teaching certificate for lifeEPSB later opened its own educator-misconduct case.An agreed order says Webb reported in February 2023 that Mulcahy had engaged in inappropriate behavior in front of students.Mulcahy maintained his innocence regarding the specific allegations. However, the order says he acknowledged the evidence, if presented at a hearing, could result in a finding that he violated Kentucky law and the professional code of ethics.Mulcahy agreed to surrender his teaching certificate and never apply for or receive another teaching, administrative or emergency certificate in Kentucky.He signed the agreement June 13, 2024. EPSB approved it two weeks later.In a statement to WCPO, Mulcahy characterized the outcome differently.The investigations ended unsubstantiated, no arrest, and no charges because nothing criminal occurred, he said. I voluntarily relinquished my teaching license to the state and moved on. This is several years old and we lived through this already.His statement that the investigations were unsubstantiated conflicts with the districts disciplinary letter, which specifically references a Substantiated Investigation Notification Letter from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.The personnel file does not contain a criminal investigative report or prosecutorial decision. WCPO therefore could not independently determine from those records why criminal charges were not filed.David and Lacey Mulcahy deny allegationsIn a statement to WCPO, David Mulcahy said the investigations ended unsubstantiated and did not result in an arrest or criminal charges because nothing criminal occurred.I voluntarily relinquished my teaching license to the state and moved on, he said. This is several years old, and we lived through this already.His Kenton County Schools personnel file does not contain a criminal investigative report or prosecutorial decision.David Mulcahy called Irelands accusations false and defamatory and said they were intended to inflict pain and ruin a business her sister stood to inherit.He said the family is consulting a law firm about its response to the accusations and alleged defamation on social media.Lacey Mulcahy similarly said the allegations had been investigated and found to be unsubstantiated.Everything is untrue, she said. This has been extremely hard on our family to have to relive all of this all over again.Lacey said The Hidden Chapter remains open despite what she described as a significant impact on the business. She also refuted claims made by Ireland and on social media that all of her staff quit.We know that we have done nothing wrong, and so we are going to try to keep our doors open the best that we can and try to show up, she said.Lacey said she worked as a special education teacher for seven years and would never knowingly permit a child to be harmed.If I thought for a second that any of these claims were true about my husband, I would not be talking to you right now, she said.A member of David Mulcahys family also disputed Irelands account during a phone interview with WCPO. The relative defended David and Lacey and described the allegations as part of a longstanding family conflict. The relative also questioned Irelands motives and said the public accusations were harming other members of the family.Former students lawsuit alleges sexual assaultSeparate from Ireland Mulcahys accusations, a former Turkey Foot Middle School student and her father filed a civil lawsuit against David Mulcahy, Webb and former principal Holly Spritzky in Kenton Circuit Court in July 2023.The lawsuit alleges David Mulcahy began sexually harassing and assaulting female students during the 2022-23 school year and made inappropriate sexual advances toward the plaintiff and other students.According to the complaint, Mulcahy moved the students desk closer to his, rubbed her arm and held her hand without letting go. It also alleges that in January 2023, he summoned the student to his classroom alone to give her a birthday present, pulled her into a hug and groped her.Those are allegations in a civil complaint and have not been established as fact at trial. Mulcahy denies engaging in criminal conduct.The lawsuit says the student and another girl reported Mulcahys behavior to a school employee, who instructed them to prepare written statements and speak with Spritzky.The complaint accuses Spritzky of repeatedly asking whether the contact could have been accidental and of initially dismissing the students allegations as not credible. It further alleges the principal failed to make an immediate report to police or child-protection authorities.The lawsuit says a concerned citizen contacted a detective on Jan. 30, 2023. According to the complaint, the school acknowledged that two students had reported inappropriate touching.The students lawsuit includes claims of negligence, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, failure to report, sex discrimination and negligent hiring, supervision and retention. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and a jury trial.The complaint also alleges Mulcahy had been accused of similar inappropriate touching while employed by Grant County Schools in 2019. It claims Kenton County administrators knew or should have known about those accusations before hiring him.Ireland echoed that criticism."Grant County definitely dropped the ball as far as not providing a safe enough environment for these girls to come forward or enough support, but I think Turkey Foot had dropped the ball more because those allegations followed him, and they still hired him," she said.Mulcahys Kenton County employment application identified his work in Grant County, and multiple Grant County educators were listed as professional references. The Kenton County file reviewed by WCPO does not include an investigative report from Grant County or document any disclosure to Kenton County about prior misconduct allegations.Ireland acknowledged she was not present for the school investigations and learned about them through records and conversations with others.Everything that I know is what I experienced, she said. Everything I know about the school allegations is what Ive read.The civil litigation has continued for more than three years.In July 2026, a Kenton Circuit Court judge granted summary judgment to Webb and Spritzky, finding the administrators were protected by governmental or qualified official immunity for the employment and supervisory decisions at issue.The judges orders concluded the administrators actions involved discretionary decisions made within the scope of their jobs.On July 30, attorneys for the former student filed a notice of appeal challenging the summary judgment granted to Spritzky.The notice asks the Kentucky Court of Appeals to review the July 9 order dismissing the claims against the former principal. The notice does not state that the claims against David Mulcahy were dismissed, and his attorney continued to receive court filings in the case.Its nice knowing that I wasnt the only oneIreland Mulcahy acknowledged that much of what she knows about the school allegations comes from records and conversations with other people because she had already moved out of her fathers home.Everything that I know is what I experienced, she said. Everything I know about the school allegations is what Ive read.Ireland said some people initially contacted her anonymously but later chose to identify themselves publicly.A lot of these girls started as anonymous, and then came back and said, You know what? This is my story, not his, she said.She said the response has helped her feel less isolated.Its nice knowing that Im not crazy, Ireland said. I wasnt just a dramatic teenage girl, that it was more than that.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less