ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) – An emotional day in court Wednesday as the trial of a former Franklin County school teacher accused of years of sexual abuse began.
The case dates back to 2021 when former sixth-grade teacher Matthew Toof was first charged with sexual assault on a student. Prosecutors say he taught the student at Georgia Elementary and the abuse started when she was 11 and continued for years. Toof was fired and now faces aggravated sexual assault and lewd and lascivious conduct charges.
In court, the alleged victim was asked to relive the years of abuse. WCAX News does not identify victims of alleged abuse.
“It hurts me to do this but then there’s the part of me that this has to be done. He knew this was going to happen. I’m also angry that he did this to me,” she said.
The victim’s mother was also called to testify. Asked how what happened made her feel, the mother responded: “Devastated. I hugged her, I held her, I said it was going to be OK. We’re going to take care of this. Everything will be alright.”
During opening statements, Franklin County Deputy State’s Attorney Diane Wheeler outlined the alleged acts to the jury. Prosecutors allege the acts happened at school, at the victim’s house and on vacations.
“You will be able to find that beyond that was part of his plan to satisfy his own lustful and sexual desires,” Wheeler said.
In the defense’s argument, Attorney Robert Kaplan paints a different picture of their relationship and denies the sexual assaults.
“At the end of the day, you are going to be left with a decision to make, really about who to believe because the only evidence of there being any sexual interaction ever between Matthew Toof and [the victim] are what [the victim] says,” Kaplan said.
Since his arrest in December 2021, Toof has been under house arrest, under strict court conditions.
Prosecutors anticipate handing the case over to the jury by the end of the week.