A Maryland judge struck down the sex abuse convictions of former Montgomery County third-grade teacher John Vigna, ruling that his lawyer performed so badly six years ago that Vigna deserves a new trial over allegations he fondled five students at school.
“Mr. Vigna has established ineffective assistance of counsel, which requires that his convictions on all counts be vacated,” Montgomery County Circuit Judge David Lease wrote in a 46-page ruling this month.
“The transcript that was used by the state was false,” Lease said in court on July 12. “It was just plainly false evidence that was presented to the jury.”“Trial counsel failed to investigate and prepare Vigna’s defense,” Vigna’s new attorneys, Isabelle Raquin and Steve Mercer, added in court papers, “committed unforced errors which applied to all alleged victims, failed to individually challenge each alleged victim’s motives, and did not exploit their specific weaknesses.
Vigna, who taught at Cloverly Elementary School for more than two decades, has long denied the accusations against him.He went to trial in 2017 on 14 charges of sex abuse and other counts that involved five complaining witnesses, who testified that he fondled them outside their clothing at school and often while he was hugging them. A jury convicted Vigna on nine counts involving four of the witnesses.
The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office opposed Vigna’s recent efforts at a new trial. In court filings, prosecutors said Morrow’s defense counsel gave Vigna a fair trial and was clearly good enough that the convictions shouldn’t be tossed.
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