Former Silver Spring Elementary Teacher Convicted of Sex Abuse Charges

SILVER SPRING, MD — A former teacher at Clover Elementary School in Silver Spring was convicted of sexual abuse charges after students said he touched them inappropriately.

John Vigna, 50, of the 1000 block of Notley Road in Silver Spring, turned himself in to Montgomery County Police and was arrested in June 2016. Vigna was convicted with four counts of sex abuse of a minor and five counts of third-degree sex offense, prosecutors announced Monday. He is set to be sentenced in August.

The sexual offenses alleged against the third-grade teacher first involved two 11-year-old girls. Three more victims later came forward — one woman in her 20s said Vigna sexually abused her when she was a student between 2000 and 2002, one girl said she was abused during the 2013-2014 school year and the last girl said Vigna abused her during the 2015-2016 school year.

Vigna was placed by the Montgomery County Public Schools system on administrative leave in February 2016 when police were notified, and he remained on administrative leave throughout the rest of the school year.

Beginning in August of 2014 and continuing through February of 2016, Vigna allegedly held the first victim, an 11-year-old girl, on his lap multiple times. Police say Vigna moved the child back and forth on his lap while holding her close to him. When she tried to leave, he resisted letting her go.

The girl was also inappropriately touched on the buttocks several times in the classroom while other students were engaged in activities that prevented them from noticing the contact, investigators say. The victim sometimes hugged the teacher goodbye and he would use that opportunity to make that further inappropriate contact, police said.

In February of 2016, the student's friend, also an 11-year-old girl, came into the classroom. Both students hugged the teacher goodbye and both saw that Vigna rubbed the buttocks of the girls. The second victim talked to her parents and police were contacted.

During his week-long trial, Vigna said he never had intentional inappropriate contact with the girls, NBC Washington reports.

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»Photo of Cloverly Elementary School teacher John Vigna, courtesy of Montgomery County Police