A man who has retired from a teaching career is set to face life in prison. The man, who was an elementary school teacher, was found guilty of dozens of charges stemming from the sexual molestation of students at the school where he taught. In total, the North Carolina man was facing more than 100 charges.
During the trial, 11 men testified about the sexual assault and misdeeds they endured as children during the 1970s and 1980s. The jury deliberated for two days about the verdict and ultimately delivered a unanimous verdict of guilty in the case. The judge then heard victim impact statements before issuing a sentence for the man.
The judge sentenced the man to life in prison despite the man’s attorney pleading for leniency since the man hasn’t been in any trouble since he retired in 1987. In 1987, it said that he resigned after a parent made a complaint about him molesting her child. One of the witnesses says that the teacher would read Bible verses while taking sexual liberties with the boys.
When the verdicts were handed down, the former teacher was said to have been expressionless. He did pat his nose with a handkerchief at one point. When the proceeding was over, the man was taken in handcuffs to jail several decades after the incidents occurred.
Facing a sex crime isn’t something that is pleasant for anyone, simply because of the connotations of these charges. This man chose to stand before a jury in regards to his crime. Anyone who is charged with a crime has the right to plead not guilty and allow the case to move through the North Carolina court system.
Source: Source: Charlotte Observer, “Retired Iredell elementary school teacher sentenced to life for sex offenses,” Joe Marusak, July 11, 2014