Vigna v. State

470 Md. 418

235 A.3d 937

John VIGNA

v.STATE of Maryland

No. 55, Sept. Term, 2019

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

August 18, 2020

Argued by Justin Eisele (Mirriam Z. Seddiq, Seddiq Law Firm, Rockvile, MD), on brief, for Petitioner.

Argued by Sarah Page Pritzlaff, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Brian E. Frosh, Atty. Gen. of Maryland, Baltimore, MD), on brief, for Respondent.

Argued before: Barbera, C.J., McDonald, Watts, Hotten, Getty, Booth, Biran, JJ.

Biran, J.

For many years, John Vigna was a popular elementary school teacher in Silver Spring, Maryland. But, as our nation has learned all too well, it is possible for a person to be a popular teacher (or coach or trainer or member of the clergy, etc.) and, at the same time, to sexually abuse children entrusted to his care. According to the evidence the jury heard in this case, Vigna sexually abused several female students while he was their teacher. The evidence showed that Vigna would have these young girls sit in his lap, and then would rub their buttocks and touch their genital areas over their clothes, or otherwise touch the girls for his sexual gratification.

At his trial, Vigna sought to elicit evidence from parents of students and from professional colleagues that, in their opinion, Vigna is the type of person who behaves appropriately with children in his custody or care. The trial judge ruled this evidence inadmissible, reasoning that appropriateness with children in one's custody or care is not a "trait of character" within the meaning of the applicable rule of evidence. However, the trial judge allowed Vigna's character witnesses to testify that Vigna is law-abiding and truthful.

The jury convicted Vigna on nine counts, and the trial judge sentenced Vigna to 80 years of imprisonment, suspending all but 48 years. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the trial court's evidentiary rulings and upheld Vigna's convictions.

We have not previously considered whether the type of character evidence Vigna sought to introduce at his trial is proper under the Maryland Rules. For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that character evidence of appropriateness with children in one's custody or care (or of similar character traits, such as trustworthiness with children or sexual morality with respect to children) may be admissible in a criminal case where a defendant is accused of sexually abusing a child. However, we hold that any error by the trial court in excluding such character evidence in Vigna's case was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. We also reject Vigna's constitutional arguments based on the trial court's evidentiary rulings. Accordingly, we affirm Vigna's convictions.

IBackground

A. Vigna's Career as a Teacher

Vigna was a teacher in the Montgomery County Public Schools ("MCPS") system from 1992 until his dismissal in 2016 following the emergence of the allegations that led to this criminal case. During his tenure with MCPS, Vigna taught grades three through five at Cloverly Elementary School ("Cloverly") in Silver Spring. He also coached baseball and unified bocce at nearby Paint Branch High School, handling the three roles simultaneously before the end of his employment with MCPS.

Vigna was very popular with students and other teachers. Vigna's students adored his affectionate teaching style, and many of them maintained close relationships with Vigna after they left his classroom. Vigna's fellow teachers respected his abilities as a teacher, and several entrusted him with their students when they had to attend to other matters.

According to Vigna, he treated his students like family, which for Vigna included physical displays of affection. He often hugged, kissed, and consoled students during the school day. These interactions with students did not go unnoticed by colleagues and others. Occasionally, other teachers and staff saw Vigna with students on his lap as he sat behind his desk. On several occasions, these physical contacts prompted concerned observers either to speak with Vigna directly or to alert school officials about his conduct.

Jennifer Grey, a fifth-grade teacher at Cloverly, took the former approach. More than once, Ms. Grey cautioned Vigna that, "especially as a male teacher," he should not "be alone with female students one-on-one," and that he should "keep [his] distance." Another teacher at Cloverly and a close friend of Vigna, David Cline, also cautioned Vigna about engaging students too closely. Ms. Grey and Mr. Cline were not concerned about the possibility of any sexual contact with students; rather, Vigna's colleagues were "looking out for his well-being" by reminding him of professional guidelines and what they "felt was appropriate." In response to Ms. Grey, Vigna on at least one occasion asserted that he was "not doing anything wrong."

On two occasions in 2008, while Vigna was a fifth-grade teacher, Cloverly principal Melissa Brunson¹ became aware of students sitting in Vigna's lap. First, on February 28, 2008, a fire marshal reported to Dr. Brunson that, during a routine inspection, he saw a student sitting on Vigna's lap. Dr. Brunson gave Vigna a verbal warning and counseled him not to have students sit in his lap. Vigna indicated to Dr. Brunson that he understood the problem.

Second, on or about May 29, 2008, a building service worker became upset after he saw a student sitting in Vigna's lap. Vigna pursued the staff member down the hall. According to Vigna, he tried to "explain that the child was upset and that [he] was trying to meet the child's needs at that moment." The loud exchange between Vigna and the building service worker received the attention of nearby staff, including Mr. Cline, who helped to deescalate the situation and took Vigna to Dr. Brunson's office. On June 2, 2008, having received two reports of lap-sitting over a three-month span, Dr. Brunson issued a letter of reprimand to Vigna (the "2008 reprimand"), stating that his "handling of this situation was improper, unprofessional, and must not be repeated." The letter informed Vigna that further incidents could lead to his termination. Vigna signed the 2008 reprimand on June 2, 2008.

To monitor Vigna more easily, Dr. Brunson moved him from a classroom located outside the building to one next to her office. Thereafter, Vigna taught the third grade instead of the fifth grade, although fourth- and fifth-grade students often visited his classroom after dismissal, while they were waiting for their buses to be called. According to Vigna, he remained committed to his "family" style of teaching despite Dr. Brunson's warnings.

During the 2012-13 school year, prompted by a parent complaint, Dr. Brunson requested that MCPS's Office of Human Resources and Development investigate allegations that Vigna "had invited female students to sit on [his] lap, lift[ed] them in the air, and danc[ed] with them during class." During the investigation, Vigna was placed on administrative leave for approximately three weeks. In a statement that Vigna provided in relation to that investigation, Vigna wrote:

"I am going to restrict my activities in the classroom to strictly teaching, counseling and advising students and will make every effort to not have any physical contact at all with my students." The result of the 2012-13 investigation was that Vigna received another letter of reprimand, this time from Larry A. Bowers, the Chief Operating Officer of MCPS (the "2013 reprimand"). Referencing Vigna's two lap-sitting incidents in 2008 and Dr. Brunson's admonition to Vigna at that time, Mr. Bowers wrote, "It is difficult to believe that any teacher, especially a veteran teacher, would not understand what is respectful and professional behavior, even after receiving a reprimand." Mr. Bowers warned Vigna that he needed to "alter [his] interactions with students immediately," and that "[a]ny further instances of such unprofessional behavior may be grounds for more severe disciplinary action up to and including dismissal."

B. The Criminal Investigation and Charges

The criminal charges against Vigna involved four girls and a young woman who all accused him of touching them in a sexual manner while they attended Cloverly.² The first of Vigna's former students to identify incidents of sexual abuse was A.C., who had been Vigna's student in third grade during the 2013-14 school year. Teachers knew A.C. as an engaging and attentive student. In February 2016, A.C. was in Ms. Grey's fifth-grade classroom when, during a pilot class on body safety taught by school counselor Heather Sobieralski, her demeanor changed. For the fifth-grade version of the body safety class, Ms. Sobieralski taught lessons on different types of abuse, starting with physical abuse. Later, she discussed sexual abuse. The PowerPoint slide she showed the class defined sexual abuse as follows: "When someone touches you or asks you to touch them on the private parts of the body (those parts covered by a bathing suit), other than to keep you clean and/or healthy." The following slide identified different types of touches, including "Unsafe/unwanted touch," which "feels uncomfortable, embarrassing or scary."

At about this point in the presentation, Ms. Sobieralski noticed that A.C. was "slumped down in her chair and staring out the window. And eventually she put her head down." Observing the near-30 student class from her desk at the front of the room, Ms. Grey saw the same thing. They both considered this behavior unusual for A.C. During a break in instruction, Ms. Grey pulled Ms. Sobieralski aside to express her concern, and Ms. Sobieralski advised Ms. Grey to check on A.C. after class. When Ms. Grey first approached her, A.C. told Ms. Grey that she was okay, but at the end of the school day about an hour later, A.C. spoke to Ms. Grey again. This time, A.C. brought up Vigna: "You know how we all love Mr. Vigna? Well, he touches us in ways that make[ ] us feel uncomfortable." Ms. Grey then took A.C. to Ms. Sobieralski's office. After Ms....