OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A jury decided Wednesday that an Osceola County teacher is guilty of lewd and lascivious behavior. Francisco Santiago was on trial for kissing a student and refused to take the stand in his own defense.
He was found guilty after a trial that really didn't have any physical evidence, just the words of a 9-year-old girl against his.
"My teacher, the person I trusted to guide me, to help me, to teach me, stuck his tongue in my mouth," prosecutor Natalie Stratis-Malak said during closing arguments.
"We the jury, find the defendant, guilty," read a juror.
It may have also been Francisco Santiago's own words that sealed his fate.
"I think that was the nail in the coffin for lack of a better term," defense attorney Rhiannon Arnold said.
"Did it happen, yes or no?" a detective asked Santiago during a taped interview.
"Yes, it happened," he replied.
For the second time since the trial began, jurors listened to Santiago's taped confession. His attorney argued the 62-year-old teacher has health issues and after being drilled by a detective for 45 minutes, just wanted to end his ordeal.
"I think out of frustration, despair, duress, he said some things I'm sure he wishes he had not said," Arnold said.
The defense also tried to point out what she called inconsistencies in the 9-year-old girls' story.
Mr. Santiago is 6'2," and initially, the child testified he did not bend over to kiss her then she said he did and said he squatted down to her level for a kiss that lasted five minutes.
The child also mentioned Santiago had refused to give her a donut the day of the alleged incident, but his defense did not use that as a reason for her to falsely accuse him.
In the end, Santiago was led out of court in handcuffs and his family walked away in tears.
Mr. Santiago was a teacher for ten years and before that he owned a Taekwondo studio. He's worked with kids his whole life and has never been accused of improper behavior before.
His attorney will use that during his sentencing hearing in December. He is facing up to 15 years in prison.
WFTV
