Former Union County teacher acquitted in sexual battery case thanks to 'big belly' defense

The big belly defense won a former Union County High School geometry teacher an acquittal – in just 23 minutes – of charges that he sexually battered a female student.

Ray Lincoln Head II was acquitted by a jury in Union County Criminal Court earlier this month of three counts of sexual battery.

More: State Board of Education investigating Union County Schools in sexual battery case

Head had been accused in both a lawsuit and in the criminal case of intentionally brushing against a female student in his class in August 2015 and making comments about her appearance.

Criminal follows civil

The girl’s mother claimed in the lawsuit other students made complaints about Head, but school officials did nothing. Union County settled that lawsuit earlier this year for an undisclosed figure. USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee has filed a request under the Tennessee Public Records Act for the settlement details since Union County tax dollars foot that bill.

The girl’s mother pushed for criminal charges, too. Defense attorney Zach Walden was suspicious of the sexual battery claims from the start, and it was his client’s belly that proved to be his best defense in the trial, Walden said.

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Head had been accused in three separate incidents: the brushing of his hand against the girl’s clothed crotch area as he passed by her in the hall near the restroom; the brushing of his hand against the top of her shirt as he brushed aside a section of her hair from her face; and pressing his body against her buttocks as she was writing on a board at the front of the class.

'A sizable belly'

In the first two claims, Walden said, the girl testified she barely remembered the encounters and couldn’t be certain Head’s touches were intentional. Walden used Head’s belly to call into question the incident at the front of the class.

“My client weighs 280 pounds, now and then,” Walden said. “He has a sizable belly.”

Walden demonstrated for jurors that Head’s belly would have touched the girl’s back, making it impossible for him to press his lower body against her buttocks as he was accused. The girl, again, testified she wasn’t certain of Head’s intent. He had been standing behind her as she wrote on the board.

“It was obvious from the beginning these allegations … did not fit the crimes Mr. Head was charged with,” Walden said. “With the jury coming back in 23 minutes with an absolute acquittal … that shows there was no case here.”

More: Lawsuit alleges Union County school officials ignored complaints

Board probe

Head resigned from his teaching post in November 2015. His license to teach in Tennessee expired in August 2017. The Tennessee Board of Education launched a probe of how Union County school administrators handled complaints against Head in 2016 after USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee reported the mother’s allegations in a U.S. District Court lawsuit filed by attorneys Deno Cole and Sherif Guindi.

The results of that investigation were not immediately available Wednesday.

The lawsuit described Head as a teacher both socially awkward and obsessed with his newest student in geometry in the 2015 fall semester at Union County High School. He complimented her on her appearance, showed her favoritism in class and sometimes stood unnecessarily close to her, the lawsuit alleged.

The girl initially told school authorities she did not want to pursue criminal charges when she complained. They were required by law, though, to report the claims to law enforcement and the state Department of Children’s Services but didn’t, according to the lawsuit. They also were accused of ignoring other complaints from students about Head’s behavior.

Attempts to reach Union County’s attorneys in the case were unsuccessful Wednesday.