Personal Statement of David Perino

My name is David Perino, and I was a teacher in Prince William County, Virginia for 17 years. I had worked with hundreds of different students and never once had a complaint made against me by a student, parent, or administrator. In 2003, accusations were made against me by a former special education student that I had attempted to sexually assault her. Articles regarding my situation are attached below. When I was first accused, I was at a complete loss as to what I should do. I believed that the student would come forward and tell the truth but, that never occurred. I then was questioned by the police and realized that I needed to seek legal help. Finding a good attorney is something I had never had to do, and I had no idea of how to go about doing it. I looked in the phone book, talked to friends, and finally just called and set up free consultations to explain my situation and see which one I felt the most comfortable with defending me.

The Prince William County Police had asked me to take a polygraph test, and I had told them from the very beginning that I had been falsely accused and that I did not feel that it was necessary to have a machine tell them that I did not do anything illegal. The detective in my case stated, "If you don't take one, you must know that we are going to believe that you did do something." I consulted one attorney in Fredericksburg, VA who stated to me, "If you do not have anything to hide, then I suggest that you probably should go ahead and take the polygraph." So, I agreed to take it.

At the time I was a mess mentally. It was as if my life had been taken from me. I could barely wake up and take care of myself, let alone my family. I lost all contact with the students I had worked with each day and the staff whom I had worked with for ten years. I decided that I would take the polygraph because I had nothing to hide and felt that it would convince the police that I was falsely accused. During the polygraph, I was asked many questions about my sexuality, marriage, and contact with the student who made the accusations against me. Following the polygraph, I was told that it was determined that I was deceptive in my answers to the question of whether I had attempted to sexually assault the alleged victim. I continued to reiterate to the detective that I was falsely accused and that I was not going to tell them that I did something that I did not do! I was then subjected to an interrogation for approximately one hour. I continued to declare my innocence. The prosecutor's office made the unfortunate decision to present charges to a grand jury, and I was indicted, jailed, and then bonded out.

I then really needed a good attorney. Prior to being jailed, a friend recommended an attorney that he knew. I went and talked with him and explained my situation. He had some experience dealing with felony cases, and he was young and seemed aggressive. I retained him as counsel. I really did not know what I should do. The first thing that my attorney did was to try and work a deal with the prosecutor. They wanted me to plead guilty to several felony charges and serve 3-5 years. Well, needless to say, I was not interested in any plea agreement.

After many pretrial motion hearings, I then went to trial and my attorney's opening statement to the jury lasted 2-3 minutes and was unprepared. I should have known at that point that I was in trouble, but I continued to believe that my attorney would do his best. After a 4-day trial, my attorney recommended that I not testify. The jury deliberated for about 6 hours the first day. My attorney was in a panic and predicted that they were going to find me guilty on one of the three charges that I faced. He then wanted to see if prior to the jury returning a guilty verdict and me facing up to 30 years in prison, they would offer a better plea bargain.

They again came back with an offer requiring that I plead guilty to one felony, spend 6 months in prison and 3 years probation, be subjected to random polygraph testing, and resign my position with the school system. I would also have become a registered felony sexual offender. My attorney felt it was a great deal, and I guess it was, given that I faced up to 30 years behind bars. I only considered the thought of accepting a plea bargain due to my children. At the time, I had one daughter who was 3 and another who was 8 years old. I had a difficult time facing the thought that I could possibly spend their entire childhood without them being able to have a dad. It almost worked, but I declined the plea offer and put my faith in God and the jury that they would see the truth.

The second day, the jury continued deliberations, and I heard many times from my attorney how I might be going to jail and that I should have taken the plea bargain. Well, after 14 hours, despite the judge's instructions to the jury to continue and attempt to reach a verdict, they were deadlocked. A mistrial was declared on all of the charges. The prosecutor again decided to pursue my case, and I was tried again several months later. With the assistance of a new attorney, the trial lasted 3 days. The jury deliberated just over an hour, and I was acquitted on all charges.

What I want people to know is that they should never agree to submit to a polygraph test. If you are involved in any police matter involving felony charges, I would recommend that you invoke your Miranda rights the first question they ask you. Anything you say to the police can only be used against you in court. Never speak until you have good legal counsel.

They had the alleged victim call my home and try to talk to me, and I know for a fact they were on the line taping everything that was said with the hope that I would say something that would incriminate me. This happened to another teacher in my county who did do something illegal. The police are allowed to lie to you and be deceptive in anyway they can to get you to say something that they can use against you in court.

As far as attorneys are concerned, find a good one. Remember that it is not the "justice" system, as many people would want you to think: it is the legal system. Taking a polygraph test was the biggest mistake that I ever made. After I took it, it was somehow conveyed by the detective or the school system's risk management investigator--who was present during the interrogation following the polygraph--to a person who was a staff member at my school (and who also testified afterwards against me in court) that I had "failed it." I don't know if it was illegal for the polygraph results to be shared with others. A friend who was also a staff member called me on the phone the day that she heard that I had failed the polygraph from the other staff member.

A lot of people unfortunately do believe that polygraphs are the real deal, and if you "failed it," then you must be guilty. Dr. Phil, Court TV, and the agencies and people who administer them continue to convey the message that the polygraph is fool-proof, accurate, and without error. Well, any person who reads what is on the AntiPolygraph.org web site, or independent research that has been conducted, will have to come to the educated conclusion that polygraphs are a joke. In the words of Albert Einstein, "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."

I know that history has taught us many lessons. Why the polygraph is even a part of our legal system is beyond understanding. We might just as well have fortune tellers, Ouija boards, and tarot card readers doing the detective work. The hard part is that the public perception of law enforcement is that they are the good guys, and if they say that it is true, then it must be. They are the ones that are out there catching the bad guys and stopping the bad people from doing harm in society. So, if they are utilizing the polygraph to help them find the bad guys, then it must be right.

A lot of people believe in things that they don't understand or know enough about. They just put their faith in the belief that whatever it is must be right. I have tried to explain to those who know me how polygraphs themselves are deceptive and not accurate, and so on. But you still wonder whether they may not believe that you are actually telling the truth, thinking in the back of their minds that you must have done something wrong for the police to have charged you with what you were accused of and tried for in court.

The polygraph that I "failed" was utilized against me by the school system in a hearing to determine if they were going to fire me from my teaching position, and I was. I have lost almost everything in my life: my career, my home, and my reputation. I have tried to move on, but even finding a decent job has been an impossible task.

I am very grateful that I do have my freedom, am able to see my children, and am not labeled a felon or sexual offender because the legal system was right in my case, and the 12 people who served on my jury were able to hear all of the evidence and come to the conclusion that I was not guilty. I hope that my story will be read and that through my experience, people will know that a person should never ever agree to take a polygraph. Maybe someday history will teach us that all that what was really being tested using the polygraph was how deceptive the legal system can be toward the innocent.