Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Former MCPS Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexual Child Abuse

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Former MCPS Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexual Child Abuse

A former Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) teacher pleaded guilty Friday to sexually abusing multiple students at Cloverly Elementary School.

John Vigna, who started teaching at the school in 1991, pleaded to one count of sexual child abuse and three counts of sexual abuse of a minor. He was accused of inappropriately touching several female students at Cloverly between 2001 and 2016.

Vigna was convicted in 2017 on nine counts related to four victims. However, his conviction was overturned in 2023 while he was serving a 48 years-long prison sentence. The Montgomery County Circuit Court tossed out his conviction when his new lawyers argued that Vigna had “ineffective assistance of counsel”...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/former-mcps-teacher-pleads-guilty-to-sexual-child-abuse/

1 comment:

AnonymousMarch 6, 2024 at 6:37 AM
"The victims participated in the initial trial and supported the plea agreement, according to DeMarco."
Albeit the preponderance of evidence
And prevalence of pent-up sentiment
The victims voiced their concurrence
That was contradictory to a deterrent.
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Principles

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

E-mail: parentscoalitionmc AT outlook.com

What The Washington Post said about the Parents' Coalition

The coalition might be the best-known parent advocacy group in the region. Its members represent several constituencies, including parents of special education and gifted education students and fiscal watchdogs. The group's defining victory came this school year when the school system scaled back the fees charged to families for course materials.

Coalition leaders have drawn attention to the misuse of funds collected from students for activities, the broadcast of a commercial radio service on school buses and, with their "Weast Watch" blog, the travel habits of Weast and his lieutenants.

The Washington Post, June 4, 2009

Jerry Weast on the Parents' Coalition

"Along the way, you’ve had a challenging relationship with the Parents’ Coalition, the network of citizen activists who use the political process and other means to hold MCPS accountable.

The thing people accuse me of is listening, but not hearing. I hear, but I do not always agree. I am sorry that the world is faster than it was 10 years ago. I did not do that. [But] if we do not keep up, then our kids will be behind. We have to stop whining and get real."

Bethesda Magazine, March-April 2011