Jury foreman in teacher rape case: 'We couldn't throw this guy's life away' [View all]
TWIN FALLS — Twelve jurors unanimously found Jason Benjamin not guilty of rape Wednesday afternoon, despite the former teacher’s admission that he knowingly had sex with an underage girl.
Benjamin, who taught at Canyon Ridge High School from 2009 until 2017, was arrested in December after a 17-year-old former student told police she and Benjamin had sex in October, a claim Benjamin confirmed in police interviews. He was charged with rape under a statute that applies when the victim is 16 or 17 years old and the perpetrator is at least three years older.
Benjamin, now 40, was 39 years old at the time of the alleged sexual encounter.
The jury trial, which began and ended Wednesday, included a video of Benjamin telling a police detective that he had sex with the girl and that he knew she was 17 at the time. After about two hours of deliberation, the jury delivered its verdict: not guilty.
Read more: https://magicvalley.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-twin-falls-teacher-found-not-guilty-of-raping-former/article_1473276f-7252-5ba8-babc-ffcbd47cc6c5.html#tracking-source=home-breaking
= new reply since forum marked as read