Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Teacher acquitted in abuse case
Two second-grade girls had accused their music teacher of abusing them during class in 2003.
By Chris Tisch
Published July 1, 2005
LARGO - A jury on Friday took less than an hour to find an elementary school music teacher not guilty of sexually abusing two of his students.
Mark Fronczak cried and received hugs from his lawyers and fiancee after the verdict was read. Across the courtroom, the mother of one of his accusers buried her head in her husband's shoulder and shook and sobbed.
"I just want to experience what freedom feels like," Fronczak said after the verdict. "It's been an excruciating year and a half."
Fronczak, 50, was a music teacher at Southern Oak Elementary School in Largo when two second-grade girls accused him of abusing them in his classroom in late 2003. The children said Fronczak touched them as the rest of the class watched a video.
Pinellas sheriff's detectives arrested Fronczak in April 2004. He was released from jail after posting $220,000 bail, but was forced to wear an ankle bracelet. Fronczak would have been imprisoned for life if convicted.
See tomorrow's Times or sptimes.com for the full report.
[Last modified July 1, 2005, 18:47:43]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
