Former Danbury teacher Kayla Mooney not guilty in student sex assault case

Kayla Mooney, an ex-Danbury High School physics teacher charged with having sex with a student, center, hugs her attorney Audrey Felsen in the parking lot of the State of Connecticut Superior Court, after being found not guilty on all counts by a seven-member jury, Tuesday afternoon. Her mother Leslie Mooney and her attorney William Westcott look on. Tuesday, July 12, 2016, in Danbury, Conn. less Kayla Mooney, an ex-Danbury High School physics teacher charged with having sex with a student, center, hugs her attorney Audrey Felsen in the parking lot of the State of Connecticut Superior Court, after being ... more Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Former Danbury teacher Kayla Mooney not guilty in student sex assault case 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

DANBURY — Kayla Mooney, the former Danbury High School teacher charged with having sex with a student, was acquitted of all charges Tuesday.

A seven-member jury deliberated for nearly two hours and delivered their verdict shortly before 3 p.m.

After the verdict was read, Mooney, who had been charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of providing liquor to a minor, cried and hugged family members and supporters seated in the gallery behind her.

Mooney declined to comment on her acquittal, but her attorney, William Westcott, said it was clear the jury made the correct decision.

“I’ve been representing Kayla Mooney for 18 months now,” Westcott said. “She told me before she was even arrested that there was nothing to these charges. She’s maintained her innocence throughout, so we’re happy with her and her family.”

In his closing argument, Westcott said Mooney’s accuser, a male student, was not a credible witness.

“The evidence shows that (the student) is a liar,” Westcott said. “He lies about things big and small. He lies to take advantage of people and he’s been caught in his lies.”

But State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky told the jury that the evidence, including text messages and voice recordings between Mooney and the student, as well as cellphone tower data and witness testimony, was enough to prove her guilt.

“The evidence of common sense shows that (the student) is credible. The evidence in total shows that the defendant is guilty,” Sedensky said.

Juror Jake Emmerthal, a Newtown resident, said the state provided a “solid case,” but it wasn’t strong enough to convict Mooney.

“Sedensky gave a great case, he provided solid evidence,” Emmerthal said. “But it just wasn’t to the point where he proved it beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Emmerthal said the jury “double- and triple-checked” the evidence during deliberations.

“A couple of us weren’t on same page to begin with,” he said. “We looked at the evidence and debated for another 20 minutes to make sure everything we had was right and we reached a verdict.”

Another female juror declined to comment, only to say that “the evidence wasn’t there.”

The trial began June 29, more than a year after Mooney was charged.

Authorities had said Mooney, who was a physics teacher at Danbury High School, had sex with the student, then 17, twice in 2014.

Westcott and Mooney’s co-counsel Audrey Felsen acknowledged that their client befriended a student, but said that the relationship never became sexual. They also questioned the student’s motives, saying he tried to advance the relationship with Mooney to extort her for money and better grades.

The student testified that he invited the first-year teacher to a Kid Ink concert on Nov. 1, 2014, at Tuxedo Junction in Danbury, but later decided that their going to the show together and being seen in public was a bad idea. Instead, he said, Mooney picked him up later that evening and they had sex for the first time.

The pair had sex again a few weeks later, the youth said, this time at East Lake Reservoir.

But in his closing statement, Westcott tried to poke holes in the state’s timeline. He argued that while the student said the second encounter happened at least three weeks after the first, cellphone data used to corroborate the story showed that it would have happened a week after the first incident.

That discrepancy, he argued, proved that the student fabricated his story.

“Is there a point where a person lies so many times about so many things so often that they forfeit the right to be believed?” asked Westcott.

But Sedensky argued that the evidence proved the two had an intimate relationship. He cited the student’s recollection of specific details about their sexual encounters, along with recorded conversations between them and the fact that Mooney stored the youth’s phone number in her own phone using emoticon hearts instead of his name.

Staff Writer Dirk Perrefort contributed to this report.

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