Posted on 11/13/2003 5:32:30 AM PST by Theodore R.
Teacher found guilty of teen molestation BY ELIZABETH LANGTON AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
A Lubbock jury deliberated for more than 41/2 hours Wednesday before convicting an Amarillo teacher of molesting a 16-year-old student, a crime prosecutors called a blatant violation of the trust parents place in teachers.
David A. Brown, 45, of Amarillo faced five charges of indecency with a child from Randall County. The jury returned guilty verdicts on each charge.
Brown showed no reaction as the judge read the verdict just before midnight Wednesday. He hugged his wife and children before leaving the courtroom.
The same jurors will decide Brown's punishment. He remains out on bond until sentencing proceedings start at 10 a.m. today.
Brown faces a maximum sentence is 20 years, but he also is eligible for probation.
The trial was moved to Lubbock because of excessive publicity in Amarillo.
Prosecutors said Brown fondled a 16-year-old Tascosa High School student on six occasions between Dec. 15, 2002, and Jan. 8 during rendezvous away from school property.
Brown denied the meetings ever took place. Defense attorney Bill Kelly called the girl a liar and pointed to evidence placing his client at other places during the alleged encounters.
"Are you sure?" he asked the jury. "Do you have the utmost certainty in your mind about those incidences?"
Brown did not testify.
On Nov. 1, school officials barred the teacher and student from contact after the girl's parents complained about inappropriate after-school meetings.
The victim, now 17, testified that she and Brown met at least three times at the mall between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15, 2002, to talk. During their next six meetings, they drove to remote locations in Brown's car, she said.
Prosecutor Amy Rhoades told jurors the victim never wanted Brown to face charges and gained nothing by cooperating with the criminal investigation.
"Was she infatuated with him? Yes. That's why she drove by his house; that's why she went to his classroom; that's why she kept going to all those locations with the defendant," Rhoades said. "She has nothing to gain ... but everything in a teenage girl's life to lose."
Two additional alleged meetings occurred in Potter County. Brown has not been charged in those cases.
The Amarillo school district fired Brown after his indictment.
blangton@lubbockonline.com 766-8795
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