Former Teacher Acquitted Of Rape Jurors Said They Weren’t Convinced Ramsey, 14-Year-Old Student Had Sex
Jurors suspect Paul Ramsey had sex with a 14-year-old student last year, but said they couldn’t be sure enough to convict him of it.
The former Garry Middle School teacher was acquitted Wednesday of third-degree rape of a child, after a three-day trial in Spokane County Superior Court.
The 10-man, two-woman jury deliberated less than an hour before reaching the verdict.
“Some of us believe they probably had sex, but there was too much doubt,” said one juror, who asked not to be identified. “We had no choice.”
Ramsey, 38, admitted hugging, kissing and writing suggestive, romantic letters to the girl but denied having intercourse with her. The victim said the two had sex in her bedroom while her parents were at work July 5, 1995.
“I became infatuated with her….I feel very foolish about that and I’m very sorry that it happened,” Ramsey testified Wednesday.
Defense attorney Carl Oreskovich said the girl made up the story about having sex with Ramsey because she was angry at her father for getting remarried. Before her father’s wedding, the girl told Ramsey she was unhappy about it, Oreskovich said.
He also suggested to the jury the girl was coached by her parents to bring charges against Ramsey - a theory most jurors believed.
When they found a notebook of letters written between Ramsey and the girl, her parents hired an attorney and filed a civil lawsuit against the teacher and the Spokane School District, Oreskovich said.
“She was inconsistent, he was not,” a juror said. “She was clearly being told what to say and we could not be sure she was telling the truth.”
The jurors did not, however, approve of Ramsey’s relationship with the girl. It helped that he admitted being wrong and sorry about what happened, several jurors said.
Deputy Prosecutor Mary Ann Brady said she was disappointed by the verdict because Ramsey clearly did not think about how his behavior would affect a 14-year-old girl.
“He’s sorry about (the girl’s) problems, but he never thought for a minute how he contributed further to her problems,” Brady said. “This guy steps in with hearts and flowers and says I love you….He’s old enough to be her father. You don’t fall in love with a 14-year-old.”
Oreskovich said he was relieved the jury got past the relationship Ramsey had with the girl and examined the real issue: whether the two had sex.
“They did the right thing,” Oreskovich said.
Ramsey, a Shadle Park High School and Eastern Washington University graduate, was fired from his teaching job after the girl’s parents filed a complaint against him last summer.
Authorities with the state superintendent’s office of professional practices also is investigating him and may revoke his teaching certificate.
Before moving to Spokane, Ramsey was named Teacher of the Year in Rathdrum, where he taught for seven years.
, DataTimes