Tonya Craft's fate now in jury's hands

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RINGGOLD, Ga. - Tonya Craft's fate is now in the hands of the jury.

Catoosa County Superior Court Judge Brian House finished his instructions about 1:30 p.m. today, then broke for lunch. The jury will start its deliberations when it returns.

Attorneys laid out their final arguments today in the 21-day child molestation trial against the Chickamauga, Ga., elementary school teacher.

Prosecutors, seeking to convict Ms. Craft on 22 counts of various child molestation offenses, said jurors should vote to convict because there are too many similarities between the claims of three young girls who accuse Ms. Craft of misconduct.

"There is plenty of evidence to prove this defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," prosecutor Len Gregor said.

He said the explanations for the accusations offered by the defense amount to "conspiracy theories." He presented jurors with 11 "Tonya Truths" that seek to explain away the charges.

"If this a conspiracy, if this is about lies, if this is about people ... who wanted to get Tonya Craft, don't you think they could have come up with bigger, better lies?" Mr. Gregor asked. "Don't you think some of these people would say 'I saw her do it.' Why didn't someone come up and say 'she confessed?'"

Defense attorney Demosthenes Lorandos in his closing said the children falsely believe they were molested because of constant suggestions by their parents.

"Because they didn't know how to interview their kids properly, they asked lots of questions," Dr. Lorandos said.

After the parents suggested that Ms. Craft touched them improperly, the children started to believe it, Dr. Lorandos argued.

He pleaded with jurors to search their hearts for the truth.

"This isn't about Tonya's Truth or a conspiracy truth. It's about the most essential truth," Dr. Lorandos said. "Here we are, men and women, trying to deal with a terrible thing that's happened. We've got to find the basic truth the best we can."

Both the defense and the prosecution were allowed 90 minutes each for their closing.

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