And so they should. Accusations like that can ruin a mans career and life.Three schoolgirls who falsely accused a California teacher of being a"perv" who touched them inappropriately have been ordered to pay him$387,000 for defamation. The ringleader of the group, who was 11 yearsold at the time, must also pay punitive damages.P.E. teacher John Fishler, 49, filed a lawsuit in 2011 after a policeinvestigation cleared him of sexual misconduct over accusations hetouched the 10- and 11-year-old girls and peeked inside their bathroomat Holy Spirit school in Almaden Valley.A Santa Clara County Superior Court jury on Friday awarded the teacherdamages for defamation and found that one of the girls acted withmalice, making her and her family liable for punitive damages.The jury will begin determining an award for those punitive damages tomorrow.The verdict shocked the families of the girls, who argued that adecision against them would have a chilling effect on the reporting ofschool abuse.The jury reportedly came down hardest on the ringleader, now aged 14, becauseof her behaviour in court.The girl giggled while testifying and twice stood down from the witnessstand and demonstrate a dance move and chant a school cheer in front ofthe witness box.Source - Ninemsn