The former Webster teacher and coach accused of forcibly raping a student was found not guilty of first- and second-degree rape on Monday.
The alleged victim, whose name is being withheld, identified Kali Watkins as her alleged abuser and said the incident took place in 2017, when the girl was 14 years old.
The alleged victim testified that Watkins lured her into a school locker room before a game, where he raped her. She said the coach held his hand over her mouth and it "was like a nightmare where you wanted to scream but couldn’t.”
Defense attorney Jon Getz said Watkins was not ready to talk following his acquittal.
“He’s been wrongly accused of a heinous crime," Getz said. "Not only was he found not guilty, we proved his actual innocence."
According to Getz, Watkins immediately began providing information to help investigators, even before he had an attorney. He also claims the former coach was also on probation at the time because he was a new member at the district.
However, rumors— unrelated to the case— were already going around the school around the time Watkins was charged. To fight those alleged rumors, the defense provided a list of witnesses for prosecutors to interview as part of the investigation. Getz said one of those on the list was Webster Police Chief Joseph Rieger's daughter, but even she wasn’t interviewed.
“The story was so incredible that we just wanted to make sure that the truth came out,” Getz added.
The judge charged the jury with instructions around 10:30 a.m. Friday. An hour and a half later, someone reported to the court that a member of the jury spoke with her about the trial during deliberations, and accused the juror of calling the trial “horrible or something to that effect.”
Prosecutors argued that the juror hadn’t said anything that raises substantial misconduct. However, the defense said the juror broke the court’s orders and called for the juror to be removed and replaced with an alternate.
The judge ultimately sided with the defense and discharged the juror. Deliberations were then ordered to restart with the alternate.
The jury did not reach a unanimous verdict Friday. Deliberations resumed at 9:30 a.m. Monday, and a verdict was reached less than two hours later.
“I’ve been prosecuting child abuse cases for over 10 years now,” said prosecutor Meredith Vacca. “They’re the most challenging cases that come in these courtrooms because the kids, they don’t tell right away. There’s no DNA evidence, there’s no medical evidence, and I will continue to do what I believe is right without fear of what might happen.”
When asked why the alleged victim would lie, Getz said there are laws in place that prevent the defense from answering those questions. Watkins' attorneys plan to review all evidence and determine who contributed to false allegations being shared about Watkins, then file lawsuits.
As for what's next for the former teacher and coach, Getz said Watkins wants to get his life back. It's unclear if Watkins plans to teach again.
“It’s just wrong," Getz added. "It’s wrong, and I’ll stand by this for as long as I breathe.”
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