Allegations of Sexual Abuse
	False Allegations
	Michael Neville case
	Manawatu Standard December 2 2004 Teacher acquitted of indecent assault charges Updated Report: A packed public gallery erupted in cheers, tears and high-fives as a schoolteacher cleared of sex charges walked from Palmerston North District Court a free man today. It took the jury - comprising 10 women and two men - 12 hours to reach its verdicts over the charges against Michael Warren Neville, after being sent out by Judge Les Atkins about 3.15pm yesterday. "When the first (not guilty verdict) came in, I thought there's no way the others could have come out as a guilty verdict," the accused's brother, Terry Neville, said. "Justice prevailed." Neville, 48, - who at one time held a senior position at the Kapiti-area school where the offences were alleged to have occurred - faced four counts of indecent assaults on girls under 12. The charges covered a period from January 1999 to August 2003. The name of the school remains suppressed. Neville appeared in the dock for the readings of the verdict looking stressed and emotional. Collective sighs of relief ran through the court as the verdicts were delivered. A number of the audience, and Neville, began weeping copiously as not-guilty verdicts rolled in one after the other. The trauma of an eight-day trial and 18 months of stress in the lead up to it had not diminished his love of teaching, Neville said. "I still love the profession, even where I work." He had no comment to make about his accusers, but said he dreamed of returning to teaching. A large contingent of friends and family posed on the steps of the district court as Neville and his wife ran a media gauntlet. Outside court, he thanked wellwishers for cards and letters of support he said had flooded in since his arrest. "There's just so many wonderful people. The cards and letters I have received from people, they have been really staunch for me." Neville's counsel, Bruce Squire QC and Sandra Moran, both of Wellington, were given a standing ovation as they left the court, and another round of applause as they drove off. Uniform police officers had been present in court for the verdicts, but in the end were not required. As he discharged the jurors, Judge Atkins thanked them for the effort they put into the case. The more jury trials he saw, the more he became convinced of the benefit of the system, Judge Atkins said.