Jury acquits man who says he gave child tummy razzes

At 30 years old, Kenneth Gagne is starting over. Over the last 10 months, he has lost his job, his home, his car and the woman he planned to marry. Fighting charges of sexual conduct with his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter left his reputation in ruins and his parents $50,000 in debt. All that, his attorney says, because of a few innocent belly kisses and an overprotective grandmother. Prosecutors, however, say Gagne deserved far more punishment, specifically the two consecutive life sentences in prison he would have faced if he'd been convicted. A Pima County Superior Court jury found Gagne not guilty of two counts of sexual conduct with a minor under 15 on Wednesday after deliberating less than two hours. [...]

Defense attorney Rick Lougee. says the Gagne case is a "terrifying example of prosecutors exercising their power without using their judgment." [...]

[Maria Gagne, his mother:] "I'm just amazed that without any type of evidence it could go this far," she said. [...] "If he didn't have us [mother and brother; brother took out a second mortgage on his home], he'd be in prison right now, and money shouldn't be the criterion for who should be free."

source: Article 'Jury acquits man who says he gave child tummy razzes' by Kim Smith; www.azstarnet.com/ metro/161686; Arizona Daily Star; 23 December 2006