A former teacher at a North Carolina Christian school agreed to an Alford plea, admitting that there’s enough evidence for a conviction on charges he molested two 11-year-old female students at Faith Christian Academy in Wayne County, WRAL reported.
Warren Riley, 53, was charged with multiple counts of indecent liberties with a child based on allegations from the mid-1990s. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, and brings the trial to an end. He was arrested in August of 2020, more than 20 years after the alleged crimes.
From WRAL: Prosecutors told the jury that Riley groomed the girls over time, singling them out with special attention before escalating his behavior into sexual abuse.
She said Riley tried to kiss her on two occasions.
When asked why she didn’t report the abuse as a child in the 1990s, she became emotional, saying, “I felt dirty, I felt shameful, I felt like somehow it would all be my fault.”
Relatives of the victims expressed anger that the trial did not result in a conviction.
Read the full report over at WRAL.
