Teacher in Virginia Awarded $5 Million for Wrongful Arrest on Sex Abuse Charges

A Virginia teacher was awarded $5M after a jury dismissed charges against her and held law enforcement liable for the damages she endured following her arrest over wrongful claims that she sexually abused a former student. Kimberly Winters, 36, who taught English at Park View High School for eight years, won the hefty settlement after suing a sheriff’s detective, who she claims ruined her life.

Winters was arrested back in 2018 when she claims the officers in riot gear burst into her bedroom, dragged her from bed, and left her to stand outside her home in handcuffs for the neighborhood to witness. She was charged with immoral liberties with a juvenile by a person in a custodial or supervisory relationship for allegedly having sex with one of her students. However, charges against the former teacher were dropped within a month after her attorney presented Loudoun County prosecutors with the lack of evidence for the charges levelled against her, Independent reported.

The sexual assault allegations were brought by the student and his mother after he graduated from high school but authorities initially decided against taking action because they believed the accuser was 18 at the time of the alleged encounter, the Washington Post reported. The complainant then altered the dates of the alleged assault to when he was 17 years old, and his mother claimed to have messages between her son and the instructor as evidence of her culpability.

Read the source article at meaww.com