admin @ Fri, 2006-09-08 11:00
Krigas' conduct was "most reprehensible" for a teacher, said Assistant State's Atty. Mike Andre during closing arguments Thursday in the Rolling Meadows branch of Circuit Court.
Defense attorney Stephen Komie said Krigas was the victim of a vengeful teenage girl, then a high school junior, who was angry at him because she was disciplined and made up a story about being fondled in 2003.
Krigas, who had been on trial since Aug. 29, was found guilty of putting his hand inside the student's blouse in a copier room at the high school in Mt. Prospect and fondling her breasts. The student said the incident happened in October 2003, though she did not report it to school officials until February 2005.
Jurors began deliberations Thursday afternoon and announced they had reached a verdict around 11 p.m. Judge John Scotillo on Thursday had granted jurors' requests to see transcripts of the testimony of some witnesses, including the accuser.
"Our teachers are supposed to make certain our students are safe and not take sexual advantage of them," Andre said. "Instead of her looking back on fond memories, she has the memory of being sexually abused by her teacher."
"You're being asked to decide what went on in a copy room at Prospect High School," said Komie, holding up an enlarged photo of the room. "This is not some sleazy hotel room. Nobody would go to the copy room to have sex. ... You can say anything, but that doesn't make it true."
Komie also said it was more than a year before the girl went to school authorities. He said the girl had continued to be part of the choral program, attending classes Krigas taught and performances he led.
Krigas was an award-winning and highly praised choral teacher and an assistant football coach who was fired last year after he was arrested. He had worked at Prospect for 12 years.
Prosecutors suggested the text messages showed that Krigas was obsessed with the girl, who testified that several messages from Krigas' cell phone contained sexually explicit questions. None of the messages was retrieved, according to testimony.
The text messages came to light when Krigas' wife, Amanda, opened a cell phone bill. She testified at the trial that she was concerned about the cost of the messaging but said she believed her husband was counseling the girl, who had a history of family problems.
This is cache, read story here