Former Eastlawn Elementary School principal Daniel McInnis has been found not guilty on all counts.
McInnis, 46, white, male, of Burlington had been charged with: a statutory sex offense with child by an adult; a sex act with a student; indecent liberties with a child; and sexual battery.
During a weeklong trial that ended Tuesday, McInnis’ defense emphasized the lack of physical evidence of any sexual assault.
The alleged victim, now 12, claims he had been in his fourth-grade math class when McInnis walked in, told the teacher he needed to speak with him, and led him down a hallway to a boys’ bathroom and sexually assaulted him in a stall.
The boy testified last week for about an hour-and-a-half in a courtroom closed to the public.
Other than the child’s claim, no evidence of the alleged assault had been introduced at McInnis’ trial.
After about two hours of deliberations, the jury returned its verdict late Thursday afternoon.
The defense relied heavily on an alternative theory that the boy acted, likely at the instruction of his mother, since the family, who are illegal aliens, were under an order for deportation. By charging a crime, the family was able to apply for a special visa that allowed them to remain in the United States despite their illegal entry.
Several former teachers testified in McInnis’ behalf, with one saying that the boy had recanted his allegations to him. The courtroom often had a dozen or more supporters of McInnis with blue ribbons sitting in the audience. Superior Court judge Doug Green had ordered that witnesses remove such ribbons before taking the witness stand.
The jury in McInnis’ trial consisted of: five white males; four black females; and three white females. Two white females and one white male had been selected as alternate jurors.
