A jury found the Fairfield teacher accused of exposing himself to a student not guilty Monday.

Jeff Iwanicki, a graphics teacher at Fairfield Warde High School, was accused by a female student who was 15 at the time of unzipping his pants and exposing himself to her on two occasions, both in the fall of 2016. Iwanicki testified that the accusations never occurred, and said there were other students in the classroom one of those times.

He was found not guilty on four counts -- two counts of risk of injury to a minor, breach of peace and public indecency.

 

"I'm just happy to be surrounded by my family and the people that love me, and all of my colleagues and students that supported me throughout this entire process," says Iwanicki.

Iwanicki adamantly denied the accusations against him in a Bridgeport courthouse, repeating the refrain "absolutely not" many times while on the stand. He told the court the complaints came after he reprimanded the student for skipping classes and said he was going to the dean. He added the student had gotten frustrated with him when he brought up concerns with her graphics project.

Iwanicki remained in his role during the trial after an arbitrator appointed by the Board of Education found the police investigation insufficient and the complaint not credible.