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Jury acquits ex-teacher of sex abuse

Accused of touching two second-grade girls, a former music instructor says the trial ruined his life.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published July 2, 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 was hugged by 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 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.

After his arrest in April 2004, the Pinellas County School Board approved a staff recommendation that Fronczak be fired. Fronczak, who had been a schoolteacher for 25 years, has appealed that decision and has been on unpaid suspension for months.

School officials could not be reached for comment Friday. After the verdict, Fronczak said he was uncertain if he would attempt a return to teaching. " I don't know. I don't think anyone can return to the classroom after this," he said.

Fronczak said it's difficult for a man to work with kids in a field traditionally filled by women.

"We're not protected, male teachers," he said. "Everything males do is suspect."

Besides his career, Fronczak lost his house and life savings during the ordeal. He voluntarily gave up custody of his two teenage sons to his ex-wife after his arrest. He recounted his problems when he took the stand on his own behalf Friday.

"My life as I know it has been ruined," he said. Fronczak would have been imprisoned for life if convicted.

Despite the verdict, the girls' families still think Fronczak is guilty.

The lives of the two little girls have been changed, according to their families. One of the girls is no longer affectionate with her father, refuses to accept male teachers and is wary of all men. She has been in counseling for more than a year. The girl is improving, but the family struggles telling her whom to trust and whom to beware.

"We don't want her to think everybody's bad," her father said.

As with all child sex abuse cases, prosecutors Kendall Davidson and Erin Wolfe faced challenges. Children can be difficult witnesses: forgetful, antsy, inconsistent, frightened.

One of the alleged victims appeared so terrified during testimony that she could hardly speak. When she did, her statements frequently were inconsistent.

"Can any of you forget how (the girl) froze up here?" Davidson told jurors in closing remarks.

Fronczak has held firm from beginning to end that he was innocent. "I have never, ever touched a student sexually, inappropriately," Fronczak said from the stand Friday. "Never. Period."

Defense attorneys Gail Conolly and Pat Doherty called the sheriff's investigation a "witch hunt" and suggested the girls concocted the stories after hearing rumors about Fronczak.

Both of the girls claimed they were abused in a darkened classroom as the rest of the students watched a video. The first victim said Fronczak twice touched her under her skirt; the second said he rubbed her private area over her clothes.

Neither girl told anyone about the alleged abuse. But the mother of the first victim later found blood on her underwear. That led to medical examinations that showed she was abused. The girl for weeks told her parents and doctors that no one had touched her, but five months later said it was Fronczak.

Then the second girl, the first victim's best friend, said she also was touched.

Perhaps most damaging to the prosecution was the case's timing. The first victim's mother reported to a doctor that the girl's bleeding started Nov. 27, 2003, Thanksgiving Day. The girl was off school and hadn't been in Fronczak's class for 10 days.

"Mark Fronczak was nowhere near the girl when she started bleeding," Doherty told jurors.

The second child's testimony was more problematic. Her story of abuse changed more dramatically over time. She also claimed to see the first victim get abused, but her description varied widely from the other girl's testimony.

Defense attorneys also questioned how a teacher could abuse two children in his class and not be seen. At the request of the defense team, the jurors were taken to the classroom Friday. To get a feel for the setting, several sat on the floor like schoolkids as a television played The Wiggles .

Jurors deliberated for about 40 minutes before they reached a verdict. Minutes later, the ankle bracelet Fronczak had to wear while awaiting trial was removed.

[Last modified July 2, 2005, 01:20:07]