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West High teacher not guilty in sex case

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The winner is... | 7:47 a.m. June 6, 2009

The Lawyers!! They are the only ones who never lose a case.

I'm in the wrong busine$$.

aa | 8:04 a.m. June 6, 2009

The girl is an admitted perjurer, read the article again, she lied on the stand before what's to stop her doing it again? And it's not just 2 people she's accused of this, there are more she's accused. Any 16 yr-old that has had 4 or more of these type of "situations" is obviously disturbed and needs real help instead of being left to her own to accuse and ruin more people's lives. I'm definitely not defending the man already in jail but this girl needs to be stopped.

Concerned Parent | 8:36 a.m. June 6, 2009

What do you mean "cannot give out current employee status"... this is the PUBLIC school system. You work for us... did you forget that?

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Judgement time | 8:41 a.m. June 6, 2009

He was found not guilty for lack of evidence. No problem with that.

Now, fire the jerk for his lack of judgment and violation of multiple school district rules.

?? | 8:50 a.m. June 6, 2009

This girl needs some serious help. And I hope she gets it now! I also think her father should be investigated. As for the rest....I'm glad this turned into a innocent until proven guilty, because for a while there it was a guilty until proven innocent situation. Congrats to the teacher and his family! There truly is a god.

Thankfully | 9:39 a.m. June 6, 2009

Yes, this guy is white. Put a picture of his next to OJ if you can't tell the difference between the two. Excessive contact alone should have been a clue. At least the other adult male admitted his guilt.

What bothers me most | 10:19 a.m. June 6, 2009

What bothers me most is that the prosecutors office took this all the way.

Their IQ and fitness for the job needs to be questioned, and the possibility of them being dis-barred needs to be seriously looked at.

This prosecutors office is a threat to the public, I feel at risk from them, they are too dull to know when not to put me or others at risk of allegations that people of normal intelligence would see through, and I have lost a measure of faith in the system.

confused | 10:33 a.m. June 6, 2009

How is this girl capable of having multiple affairs with older men and her parents are unaware. After the episode last year in court, my daughters life would be limited to family time only and the remainder of time in therapy to figure out why she is seeking such older men. She is mentioned by another teacher at the school as being overly flirtatious and that teacher went to the principal being concerned. I think that not only should the adult be tried I think the girl should be tried for seduction.

Remember | 11:11 a.m. June 6, 2009

"Not Guilty" does not mean innocent. It simply means there was not enough evidence to prove guilt. Who knows if the girl was lying or not? Because a judge rules in favor of the defendant does not necessarily mean the witness was lying. The judge must take into account the totality of the evidence.

Time to celebrate the verdict from a legal view. There was not enough evidence.

Time to leave the witness alone. There is no proof she lied.

Star | 11:26 a.m. June 6, 2009

She was caught with the OTHER MAN (the one in jail - I guess he had to admit it) - in the act!
Some of you don't read the story.
Since she is such a predator, I wonder about the relationship with her father too. Has she been abused as a child? I hope that isn't the case, but if you had a daughter who was constantly going after men and accusing them (total 5, I think) you would begin to wonder and make sure she had serious counseling.
I don't understand why she was in the school. I would've sent her to another one. I see girls in jr hi school that I would worry about with any male.

Sad Situation | 11:49 a.m. June 6, 2009

I don't know how teachers make contact with students regarding school "stuff" since the technological revolution, but it seems out of character, or another way of saying it, it really does appear that this teacher was trying to establish a relationship with this teen girl beyond the normal duscussion of teen angst or homework. But again, I could be wrong since I do not have the transcripts of what was actually said. However, him being alone with her in his car is a recipe for disaster...for anyone with whom they could potentially be sexually attracted to. Also, many of the commentators are calling this girl a slut; however, she is still young and inexperienced while those she has apparently associated with are more mature, experienced, and older than her. I really think it is a sign of immaturity to lash out at this girl and call her a slut as it is to lash out at him and say he is a sexual predator - without a true knowledge of the facts which it seems only them and God knows.

There's no proof | 4:44 p.m. June 6, 2009

that this girl was lying, or that this man was innocent. All there is proof of is that they had a highly inappropriate student/teacher relationship that broke a multitude of rules. This teacher was not found innocent of all charges, he was found not guilty because, as the judge explicitly said, there was not enough evidence to convict. That doesn't mean anything about the guilt or innocence of either party. It just means that there wasn't enough evidence to proof concretely what happened either way.

x-factor | 4:49 p.m. June 6, 2009

Nice of the school officials to support him.

They sure left this guy out to dry.

Just another reason not to teach!!

About "cultural differences" | 6:09 p.m. June 6, 2009

I noticed in an article in the DN awhile back that there is a fellow hired in the Salt Lake area by the local government to serve as a sort of liason to help hispanics adapt to American culture and so on. The article stated that HE hugged everybody and that some people needed some getting used to his ways to feel comfortable with him. And I thought then that it would only be time until somebody accused him of something like this, too. Funny that nobody picked up on that story and suggested that he might change his ways a bit now that he's working in America.

DQ | 7:17 p.m. June 6, 2009

It is amazing to see comment after comment mix up case 1 facts with case 2 facts (caught in the car by police) and then make a comment based on that. It is also interesting to see others point out that 2 oe 3 more adults have been accused by this person as fact, without pointing to the substantiation of that and then comment based on that. People claiming to be lawyers, etc. Isn't the internet great? You cannot assume anything on here is true.

Panther | 9:01 a.m. June 7, 2009

Okay, first off to you boneheads who are insisting Fanjul is white. He is an immigrant from Venezuela! He is also an US citizen, but he is far from being white.

And in regards to whether or not the victim lied. She lied in both the Herrera trial and in preliminary hearings for this trial. Go read earlier court documents or even earlier news articles. It's not that difficult. It's fact she lied under oath at some point. Whether or not it was out of protection or fear is irrelevant.

And she was caught by police with Herrera there is no dispute against that.

I was in court | 4:22 p.m. June 7, 2009

I was in court for every minute of this trial. I heard all the evidence (or lack thereof) I heard the accuser make statements under oath that were later proven to be false through cross examination and the testimony of credible witnesses. I heard the investigating officer admit to mistakes that were made in the investigation. I heard the school principal relate a threat made to her by the investigating detective. I heard the prosecution's inept attempt to present any shred of EVIDENCE that a crime was committed. I heard the judge rule on this case without having to leave the courtroom to deliberate after testimony was completed and closing statements were made. This man was falsely accused, falsely arrested and charged and wrongly tried for this alledged crime. His career, finances and life have been ripped to shreds by this situation. There needs to be some retribution made. It is frightening to realize how easily this could happen to anyone.

Me Myself and I | 11:22 a.m. June 8, 2009

I kind of find it a bit ironic that the prosecution relied so heavily upon phone and text records. None of which contained any statement or account of any sexual relations between the two parties. As far as he saying he loved her, we all know how many different meanings the word love has. Besides many teachers do genuinely care about their students. I agree with the gentleman who said that just because Mr. Funjal wasn't convicted doesn't mean he didn't do it. I hope he didn't and if he didn't then I'm happy for him.

Anonymous | 6:55 p.m. June 8, 2009

Being a judge is not an easy job!

to Panther | 6:03 a.m. June 9, 2009

He is from Venezuela, not Africa. He is white.

Anonymous | 9:23 a.m. June 9, 2009

Quick to hang that girl for lying? The problem with being younger is you dont always know what the truth is. Like an above poster said, just because it cant be proven in a court doesn't mean it didnt happen.....OJ? If you cant prove anything sexual happened does that automatically mean you can prove that nothing sexual happened? Sometimes there is just no evidence and it comes down to he said, she said. So before you all rush off to get her in trouble for lying, maybe you should look and see if the evidence supports you accusations..?

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