LATHROP – Former Joseph Widmer School third-grade teacher Michael Berchtold was found not guilty Monday by a San Joaquin County Superior Court jury on all the felony charges of lewd acts upon a minor under the age of 14 filed against him three years ago.

Patrick Ewing Clancy, Berchtold’s attorney and the founder of the Innocence Legal Team, said Monday in a telephone interview hours after the verdict was read that his client “has been found not guilty of all the felony charges.”

The verdict was a hung jury – 10 to 2 – on the six misdemeanors with 10 voting not guilty.

The District Attorney now has the choice of either retrying the case on the six misdemeanors or to drop all of the charges. Either way, Clancy said he will continue to represent Berchtold until he is completely cleared of the misdemeanors.

“I will handle this case until it’s over with,” said Clancy whose Innocence Legal Team has “multiple offices” all over and works out of his Walnut Creek office.

Clancy said Berchtold can’t apply to get his old teaching job back until he is cleared of all the misdemeanors as well.

The District Attorney has until Nov. 28 to make the decision whether to drop the misdemeanor charges or go for retrial.

In an e-mail sent to his supporters on the Monday jury verdict, a copy of which was obtained by the Manteca Bulletin, Berchtold wrote: “I cannot express how appreciative I am of all your support. We have come a long way, and there was no way I could have done this without you. You got me through the tough times and helped me to enjoy the good times.”

He was, however, cautious about celebrating at this moment until Nov. 28 when the District Attorney announces his decision.

But for some of Berchtold’s supporters who staunchly held on to the belief that he was innocent of all the charges, the “not guilty” verdict on the two felonies on Monday was more than enough reason to be happy.

“We were just so happy; it’s been a long battle,” said Megan Cai, Berchtold’s former student in third grade at Joseph Widmer and now a senior at Lathrop High School, about her reaction when she first heard the good news.

Cai was one of the character witnesses who testified in court on behalf of Berchtold. She appeared in court on Oct. 15.

“There were so many witnesses. There were a lot of teachers who also testified for his character,” added Cai who was inspired by her former teacher’s legal case to pursue law in college at either Yale or Harvard where she is currently a finalist for a full-ride scholarship on either campus.

Cai’s mother, Angela, went as far as to say that the verdict “was expected; I am so happy.”



Second time was the charm for Berchtold’s legal court struggle

Monday’s verdict was the culmination to Berchtold’s second trial in court. In January, the French Camp resident won a new chance at seeking justice and clearing his name when his earlier guilty plea was set aside by a Superior Court judge which made way for the new trial in May, with Clancy as his new lawyer.

In a telephone interview in January, Clancy said his client won that second chance at proving his innocence because his former lawyer “failed to advise him” of the defense in the case. The judge agreed with Clancy’s argument and ruled for a new trial date before a jury panel.

“Once that (failure to advise) was shown, the (guilty) plea was set aside,” said Clancy whose web site describes him as “100 percent dedicated to Criminal Law with an expertise in sex crimes defense.”

Early on, Clancy expressed confidence that his client will be fully exonerated.

In July of 2009, Berchtold agreed to plead guilty to one count of lewd acts involving a minor in return for having all the other charges dropped under a plea deal with the prosecutors.



Former students, family & friends raised $225K to bail teacher out of jail

Berchtold was a third-grade teacher at Joseph Widmer when the allegations were made by the parents of three alleged female victims who, according to San Joaquin County Sheriff’s investigators, were between the ages of 8 and 9 at the time of the alleged incidents.

After Berchtold turned himself in to Sheriff’s authorities, he was booked into the county jail in French Camp with bail set at $225,000.

Those who firmly believed in Berchtold’s innocence pooled their money to raise the amount that was needed for his release from jail. The donors, who all had to go to the Sheriff’s Office in French Camp in person for their money to be accepted as part of the bail, ranged from young teen-agers like Megan Cai to senior citizens who knew the former teacher’s family. The Cais also spearheaded a petition and a newspaper letter campaign urging a “fair trial” for Berchtold who was 32 years old at the time of his arrest.

Following his arrest, Berchtold was placed initially on administrative leave with pay; however, as the investigation continued, he was terminated from his job at Joseph Widmer. He has been a teacher for a total of seven years up to that time, with all of those years spent at Widmer School.

In addition to his teaching job, Berchtold was also described as “very active” in Lathrop youth programs as well as “youth sports and church youth programs.”