School Interpreter Acquitted

(Athens, Georgia) Natasha McCrary, the 33-year-old interpreter for deaf and hearing-impaired who was accused of molesting three students, has been found not guilty of statutory rape, aggravated child molestation and other felony charges following a three-day trial. The jury deliberated for less than two hours. According to McCrary's attorney, Kim T. Stephens, the accusations made by the three students were deemed not credible by the jurors.

From OnlineAthens.com:

Stephens said the case began when one of the boys made up a story about having sex with McCrary after she didn't give in to his demands to buy him tennis shoes, a cell phone and other items.

"The kid even said in court he never would have made the accusations if Ms. McCrary had bought these things for him," Stephens said. "That's pretty strong motive on his part to lie."

The other two boys made similar false accusations because they were followers of the boy who tried to extort McCrary, he said.

"The other boys emulated and idolized (the first boy) because he's one of the better basketball players and they're all close friends," Stephens said.

All along, McCrary claimed she was the victim of an extortion attempt and she's been proven right by trial. She hopes to return to to her job of being an interpreter.