California Teacher Carmina Lopez Acquitted - Updated

(Chula Vista, California) Thirty-three-year-old teacher Carmina Erica Lopez was acquitted yesterday of child molestation.

The jurors simply didn’t believe her accuser.

As they rendered their not-guilty verdicts in Chula Vista Superior Court yesterday, a shaking Carmina Erica Lopez hugged her attorney and began to cry.

The South Bay teacher was acquitted of 10 counts of child molestation and one count of providing drugs to a minor.

In the end, the jury found the accuser, now a 16-year-old, not believable and insufficient evidence to support a conviction.

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California Teacher Collared on 40 Counts of Child Molestation
[Previous 1/29/09 post]
(Chula Vista, California) A 32-year-old fifth-grade teacher at Sunnyslope Elementary School, Carmina Lopez, was arrested yesterday for allegedly molesting a male student for four years, starting in 2004 when he was 11 years old. The boy is now 15.

According to Chula Vista Police Lt. Dan Linney, Lopez began the relationship with the boy when she was his sixth-grade teacher.

The relationship with the boy ended last year, Linney said.

Lopez was still being questioned by detectives early Thursday. She faces at least 40 counts of unlawful sex with a minor and child molestation charges, Linney said.

The investigation continues.

Tip: David L.