Former teacher guilty of sex assault 08%2F18%2F04

I still can't believe this! I went to high school with this guy! This is just so out of character for what I remember of him I mean, I know we change, but COME ON! I really really really hope this is just wrong and eventually the truth will come out that it's not true at all.

Former teacher guilty of sex assault 08%2F18%2F04

Former teacher guilty of sex assault

Jury convicts man after short deliberation; sentencing due Sept. 9

By Andrea Blum, The News-Herald

PUBLISHED: August 18, 2004

DETROIT -- A Wayne County Circuit Court jury found a former Southgate middle school teacher guilty of second-degree criminal sexual conduct Monday for having sex with a student.

The jury dismissed a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against Paul Ivity and convicted him of the lesser offense.

He will be sentenced Sept. 3.

Second-degree criminal sexual conduct is defined as engaging in sexual contact with another person.

The first-degree charge implies there was penetration.

The jury deliberated the case for a short time Friday and rendered a verdict Monday afternoon.

"The jury obviously didn't believe the allegations of intercourse," defense attorney James Burdick said.

He said he believes Ivity was convicted of the lesser charge because the alleged victim kept changing her story.

The jury dismissed the first-degree charge of criminal sexual conduct, which carried a mandatory sentence of up to life in prison.

The second-degree charge could result in probation or a lesser amount of jail time up to 15 years.

Burdick said he was pleased with the outcome.

"I would be more pleased if he was acquitted as should have been," he said.

Prosecuting attorney Louisa Papalas said even though the initial charge was dismissed, the jury still found that Ivity used his position of authority over the girl to coerce her.

"We're still happy with the verdict," Papalas said. "It's a lesser degree, but still a very serious felony."

Ivity, 32, was accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl he coached on a junior varsity soccer team at Southgate Anderson High School.

The trial began Aug. 4 before Judge John O'Hair in Wayne County Circuit Court.

Ivity took the stand in his defense last week.

The former teacher wrapped up his testimony Thursday, saying that he didn't know the teen had been drinking at his house.

He told the jury that he discovered her passed out in the bathroom.

The prosecution presented DNA evidence that it said proved Ivity committed the crime and the teen testified that she and Ivity had sex.

The defense presented several character witnesses, including former students and their parents, who portrayed Ivity as an upstanding teacher and coach.

The alleged victim and her mother testified at the trial's start, followed by her father and counselor, police and medical personnel last week.

Papalas said Friday that the defense tried to impeach the girl's credibility by saying she made inconsistent statements.

"We acknowledged that she was less than forthcoming in the emergency room," she said.

"She wanted to protect him. She had a mentor relationship with him."

Ivity originally faced six counts of criminal sexual conduct, but those charges were reduced to a single count.

He worked as a physical education teacher at Gerisch Middle School and coached junior varsity soccer at Southgate Anderson High School, but resigned from the district in April.

The alleged victim, now 16, was a ninth-grader at Davidson Middle School when the alleged incident took place Aug. 19, 2003, at Ivity's house.

The teen had seen Ivity during the summer at a soccer camp run by the school district.

According to testimony from her mother, she left that morning with Ivity, who later called saying that she was acting strange and wanted him to take her to the Grogan Elementary School playground.

Her parents found her lying on the ground there with Ivity nearby.

Medical personnel testified that the teen had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent, more than twice the 0.08 percent legal limit for adults under Michigan law.

Her mother took her back to the hospital for a rape test after later learning of the alleged sexual assault.

The hospital brought the matter to the attention of police and school officials.

Ivity was suspended from the school in October after a police investigation.