Fairfax teacher still suffering from false molestation allegations

[The Straight Story]

Fairfax teacher Sean Lanigan still suffering from false molestation allegations

Sean Lanigan’s nightmare began in January 2010, when the principal at Centre Ridge Elementary School pulled him out of the physical education class he was teaching and quietly walked him into an interrogation with two Fairfax County police detectives.

...

The girl, angry at Lanigan about something else entirely, had made the whole thing up. But her accusations launched a soul-sapping rollercoaster ride that still hasn’t ended.

“Emotionally, a part of me has died inside,” Lanigan said in a recent interview. “I’m physically and mentally exhausted all the time, how the whole process has been dragged out to this date. It certainly has affected the quality of life for me and my family at home.”

Lanigan remains in limbo, nearly a year after a jury’s acquittal. The Fairfax School District transferred him from Centre Ridge in a move that ultimately forced his wife to quit her job. School officials are now transferring him again. And the district has refused to pay his $125,000 in legal fees, even though Virginia law allows reimbursement for employees who are cleared of wrongdoing on the job.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fairfax-teacher-sean-lanigan-still-suffering-from-false-molestation-allegations/2011/03/04/AFVwhh3G_story.html

[xchrom]

1. After being accused of that - does it ever really go away? Nt

[AtomicKitten]

2. Once that accusation is out of the bottle, you can't put it back.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. Sad story. In it's entirety. But this excerpt caught my eye:

>>>Virginia’s public soccer leagues immediately reinstated Lanigan as a coach. But the Fairfax school district was much slower. It waited three months, until just before the start of the school year, to decide that Lanigan could not return to Centre Ridge. He was transferred to South Lakes High School in Reston, and given a part-time job, teaching five out of every 10 days, though he was paid a full-time salary.>>>>


Only a school district would be capable of this kind of "logic".

Welcome to the Educational Twilight Zone.

[rfranklin]

4. I don't see that there has been any punishment of his accusers...

who obviously perjured themselves and committed felonies by falsely accusing him.

[Lance_Boyle]

8. Criminal AND civil penalties await the false accuser.

Good luck getting a DA to pursue the criminal charges, though. Maybe if the false accuser had been male... But the wrongly accused teacher ought to be able to sue the pants off the false accuser and her parents. I would hope so, anyway.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

15. On paper only. Rare if ever in real life

[WolverineDG]

13. Oh, but they're "victims" & so they get away with it

the second the authorities attempt to prosecute the "victims" for perjury & obstruction, you're going to see loads of OTT & hysterical "protests" claiming that "all" rape & molestation victims are going to be thrown in jail for filing charges.

dg

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. A teacher I worked with was fired after a similar false accusation

It never even went to trial. But he had been fired and had no money to fight to get his job back. It was a similar story. He had corrected a kid who got mad and made a false accusation. It ruined his life. Last I heard he was working at Sears.

[pipoman]

6. It's almost worse if it never goes to trial

because there is no absolute, on the record cause for dismissal. It leaves a question in some people's mind of, 'maybe it happened and there just wasn't enough evidence to prosecute'.

[Shagbark Hickory]

10. Aren't there unions that would help fight this or is that only in fairytales? nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. He didn't belong to the union

But if he had, yes, he probably wouldn't have lost his job.

[pipoman]

7. False accusations

should always be prosecuted. False accusations of a sexual nature should receive an enhanced sentence...say double the fine/time.

[madinmaryland]

17. Can a 12 year old be prosecuted for this?

[Occulus]

18. 12 year olds have faced the death penalty

I would hope they could be, well past the age of majority. Otherwise, it's kind of a blank check, isn't it? "Change my grade or I'll say you fondled me, and nobody can throw me in jail for lying about it."

And yes, some kids really are that.... misguided.

[TransitJohn]

27. False accusers of sex crimes should be put on the registry. eom

n/t

[Shagbark Hickory]

9. All kids have to do it point their finger and that's the end of your life as you know it. nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Which is the exact scenario of the Salem witch trials. nt

[AngryAmish]

22. That is why men should never allow themselves to go into education

Too risky.

[Shagbark Hickory]

24. It can and does happen to women as well!

[WolverineDG]

12. and this is why I don't jump on the "Kill 'em Now" bandwagon

when such allegations are made.

dg

[woo me with science]

14. +10000 nt

[gratuitous]

19. But, but, but, "everybody" says!

Gee whiz, a trial is so . . . anticlimactic, with its "evidence" and "testimony" and "rules of procedure." So much more exciting and viscerally gratifying to just blow the bad, bad person away.

As long as "everybody" says the bad, bad person is bad.

[WolverineDG]

23. All that shit just gets in the way

of a good "OUTRAGE" flame war.

dg

[Dawson Leery]

20. There is no balance.

60 years ago, children had no rights. In the past 20 years, they have been granted more rights and more protections. Today, all they have to do is "cry wolf" to get
an adult in trouble. As another poster stated, this is the equivalent of the Salem Witch trials.

[FLAprogressive]

21. I would sue the school district for not paying up AND I would sue the girl for slander....

[LisaL]

25. She is a minor.

And thus has no income.
Even assuming one can sue a minor, and damages are awarded, how will they ever be collected?

[FLAprogressive]

26. Dock the little cretin's pay.