Appeals Court overturns former Cape teacher's conviction
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story and the headline have been updated to correct the charges for which Russel Wilcox-Cline was convicted. The conviction was overturned by the Massachusetts Appeals Court on May 17, 2019, due to insufficient evidence.
BARNSTABLE — A former Cape Cod Academy science teacher has been found guilty of two counts of disseminating matter harmful to minors, according to Barnstable District Court documents.
Russel Wilcox-Cline, 26, of Mashpee, was charged in 2016 with four counts of disseminating obscene matter to a minor and one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, according to documents.
A jury on Friday found Wilcox-Cline not guilty of the other two counts of disseminating matter harmful to minors, according to documents. The indecent assault and battery charge was dismissed in December 2016 for lack of jurisdiction.
The alleged offenses occurred July 3, 2016, according to documents, after Wilcox-Cline had left Cape Cod Academy to pursue a doctorate at the University of Michigan.
Wilcox-Cline worked at the academy from 2014 until June 2016 and gave the faculty address at that year’s graduation.
Wilcox-Cline was placed on probation for one year for the two guilty findings, according to documents. He was ordered to stay away from and have no contact with any of the testifying witnesses and undergo an alcohol evaluation and any counseling deemed appropriate.
— Madeleine List
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Appeals Court overturns former Cape teacher's conviction
