Former Wilmington Catholic School Teacher Convicted on Multiple Felonies in Child Sex Abuse Case
A child sex abuse case against a former teacher at a now-closed Catholic school in Wilmington, Delaware, concluded on October 22: a jury found defendant Christopher Crisona guilty on all of the multiple felony counts he faced.
According to Delaware Online on October 22, after a trial of less than four days, the jury found that Crisona raped a student multiple times in the 1990s, convicting him on every felony charge. Crisona taught math and ran extracurricular activities at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Wilmington, which has since closed. The school, in the 200 block of Bayard Avenue, closed in 2008 after 105 years.
Because the abuse occurred some thirty years ago, there was no DNA or other physical evidence, and the victim's testimony was the main evidence. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Wynn, the lead prosecutor, emphasized that point to the jury in his opening statement. The defense tried to win acquittal by questioning the reliability of the victim's memory, probing the science of 'repressed memory' and the victim's years of therapy, but failed to persuade the jury.
Crisona was charged together with former school priest John Taggart, who also faces multiple felony sex abuse charges; Taggart's trial is set for January. Crisona will be sentenced in the coming months.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 威尔明顿砖排屋街景 / Brick rowhouses in Wilmington, Delaware — Wikideas1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
