A Differing Definition Of Justice

Without any forensic evidence or witnesses to the alleged incident, prosecutors put Perino on trial in May 2004, but the case ended in a hung jury. In November, jurors deliberated for 15 minutes and acquitted him on charges of attempted forcible sodomy and aggravated sexual battery, sparing him from up to 30 years in prison.

Despite the acquittal, the victim did not withdraw her allegations.

Five days after the verdict, Perino received a letter from then-Superintendent Edward L. Kelly. It said that Perino "violated" the law and school policies -- pornography had been found on his school computer -- and that Kelly was asking the School Board to dismiss him. The pornography was part of Kelly's decision, although Perino had denied downloading it and insisted that others had access to his computer and classroom.

Responding to Kelly's letter, Perino initiated the school system's grievance process, which typically is closed to the public. First, he went before a three-member fact-finding panel that hears evidence and makes a recommendation to the School Board. Then he participated in the School Board's grievance hearing, which determines the outcome.

According to a transcript obtained by The Washington Post, Perino said he was taken aback by some rules in the hearing. For instance, Beauchamp cut short Perino's opening statement because he kept breaking a rule that no "evidence or argument" regarding the criminal cases could be heard.

"I've endured two trials where the only student to take the stand against me was the alleged victim," Perino said before he was stopped.

"Mr. Perino, that is the end of your opening statement. Thank you very much," Beauchamp interjected. "You were warned on four occasions. Let's move to the evidence, please."

Perino, according to the transcript, also said in his opening statement: "It is very difficult for me to sit here and describe the impact and damage that this alleged victim has done to me and my family. I've wondered every day why she would have made up these vicious lies about me. Only she and God know the answer to that question,"

School Board members did not ask the alleged victim to testify, relying instead on her cross-examination provided in the transcript from the first criminal trial. The board's attorney, Mary McGowan, said court rulings have determined that employees do not have an absolute constitutional right to confront their accuser in an administrative hearing. But critics say withholding the accuser does not allow school board members to truly assess the accuser's demeanor or credibility.

"I have some serious concerns about the due-process rights of this teacher. There needs to be direct evidence when you're dealing with precise reasons for a dismissal," said Leslie Stellman, an attorney for school systems in Maryland and co-author of the book "Teachers and the Law."

Perino also was surprised that so much evidence barred from his criminal trial could be admitted into his grievance hearing. Polygraph results generally are inadmissible in court because there is no consensus on their reliability.

School Board members, in a 6 to 2 vote, fired Perino, according to court papers filed as part of lawsuits he has since filed against the school system. The evidence they cited included the interview with police afterward, a video of the student leaving his classroom looking "anguished" and the pornography. As part of one of his lawsuits, Perino wants a new School Board hearing on his license.

Citing privacy laws, Beauchamp declined to comment on the case. The student could not be reached to comment; her mother would not speak to a reporter asking for comment.

Perino has since moved to southwestern Pennsylvania to be near his family. On a recent afternoon, Perino said that he has brooded with resentment over the School Board's hearing and that he is trying to concentrate on the future. He said he has other worries: Doctors removed a cancerous thyroid from his wife, who has a genetic disorder that needs constant monitoring. In addition, his daughter Nicole, 10, was found this year to have the same disorder.

Sitting at his dining room table, Perino pulls out a newspaper story that he saved. It's about a Roanoke teacher who jumped off a bridge about two years ago and killed himself after a student falsely accused him of assaulting him.

"I look at the guy," Perino said, squinting out the window at nothing in particular, "and I bet you he was a good teacher and tried hard to help his kids."