Fired N.Va. Teacher Loses Legal Bid to Return

"It is hard to escape the conclusion that this litigation was intended to harass the defendants and the school division. . . . There was no legal or factual basis for this defamation action, which would have been readily apparent to any reasonable lawyer who investigated the law and facts before filing suits," she wrote.

The dispute between Perino and the school system began Dec. 12, 2003, when a 20-year-old student with Down syndrome accused the 16-year veteran of sexually abusing her inside his empty classroom during school hours. The woman alleged that Perino tried to sodomize her; Perino said they talked about photographs on his wall before he ordered her to return to her regular classroom.

His first trial, in May 2004, resulted in a hung jury. Months later, a second jury found him not guilty of aggravated sexual battery and attempted forcible sodomy.

Last spring, Perino faced a School Board grievance hearing to keep his job. But School Board members voted to fire him, saying they believed he was guilty of sexual abuse. They also discovered pornographic images on his classroom computer and accused him of downloading the items. Perino denied doing any of it and said other people had access to his computer.

In criminal court, jurors must convict if they have no "reasonable doubt" of a defendant's guilt. School Board members need only a "preponderance of evidence" to conclude that a person is guilty.

After his firing, Perino said he turned to what he believed was his last option. He filed six defamation lawsuits -- against the school system and five employees whose statements against him were used in the grievance proceedings -- seeking more than $8.7 million in damages. None of the suits went to trial, and in the past two weeks all were dismissed.

Perino also sought legal action against the School Board in federal court, alleging that his due process rights were violated and that he should get a new grievance hearing. But U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III dismissed his case in October, ruling that he had received a fair hearing.

Still, Perino keeps fighting. His attorney recently filed paperwork in a federal appeals court seeking to overturn Ellis's decision.