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Portland Teacher Found Guilty Of Sexual Battery

Sandy Binkley Found Not Guilty Of 7 Additional Counts

POSTED: 10:09 am CDT September 29, 2009
UPDATED: 10:07 am CDT September 30, 2009

Sandy Binkley's husband said he is disappointed with his wife's conviction Tuesday on two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure.

Portland Teacher Found Guilty | Jurors Deliberate Teacher-Student Sex Case

"We had expected a different outcome," said Doug Binkley shortly after the verdict was read.

Binkley was, until last year, a math teacher at Portland High School. Her conviction means she will serve a minimum of three to 12 years, according to the district attorney for Sumner County, Ray Whitley.

"She will be held accountable," Whitley said. "She cannot get probation."

The statutory rape counts of which she was convicted both carry a sentence of three to six years in prison, which she would serve at 30 percent because she does not have any prior convictions.

Binkley will be held in jail until her sentencing date Nov. 13. Attorneys said Binkley is likely to stay out on bond until the sentencing hearing.

When asked what evidence was most helpful to winning the conviction, Whitley said, "The Facebook evidence was devastating to her."

The DA introduced social networking conversations between Binkley and one of the victims. Binkley had said the boy raped her in a school office; however, her online conversations show the two corresponded frequently after the alleged rape. About five months after the alleged rape, Binkley wrote to the boy, "What have you told your friends about us? They're all hitting on me."

The jury convicted Binkley on two counts but acquitted her on seven counts. Those seven charges involved two other boys, one of whom was the younger brother of the victim she was convicted of having sex with.

"The jury absolutely did not believe the second brother. He made it up," said defense attorney David Ridings.

The jury also acquitted her on charges involving a third boy.

Closing Arguments Held Tuesday Morning

During closing arguments, assistant district attorney Sally Brown told the jury that in order for them to believe Binkley's defense that she was raped, they would have to believe in a grand conspiracy theory.

That theory, Brown said, would have to include not only all three boys who said they had sex with her, but the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, all of the school employees who testified and also the physical evidence, which included a condom wrapper found in Binkley's classroom closet.

Brown said for that conspiracy theory to have merit, the jury would have to believe that someone planted the condom wrapper in the closet and somehow planted Binkley's DNA on it.

"Some people like to live on the edge sexually," said district attorney Ray Whitley. "We have a teacher in Portland who likes to live on the edge."

Also, the prosecution said that Binkley bought the student an Xbox game console after the alleged rape.

One of the boys testified that he and Binkley had sex in the closet. However, Binkley denies having sex with any of the boys voluntarily. She said one of the boys raped her and that all three made up stories to cover up the rape.

The prosecution said Tuesday that the three boys "certainly got an education" from Binkley but that it wasn't the education their parents expected.

Binkley's defense team said the three boys all lied when they said she voluntarily had sex with them. In his closing arguments, Binkley's attorney David Ridings said the boys set out to harm her reputation and their stories had many inconsistencies.

"They want you to think Sandy Binkley is the Portland whore. And they want to trash her reputation," said Ridings.

During the trial, which began last week, each of the teens said they had sexual contact with Binkley. The prosecution presented evidence that Binkley and the teens exchanged more than 3,000 text messages and phone calls.

"If a text proves sex, then a lot of teachers are in a lot of trouble," said Ridings.

A TBI expert testified that the condom wrapper found in Binkley's classroom closet had some of Binkley's DNA on it, which Binkley said she could not explain.

Binkley said on the stand Monday that she had been raped by one of the boys and never had any sexual contact with the other two. Binkley did not report the alleged rape until confronted by police.

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