The former Moffat County teacher and coach on trial for felony Child Sexual Exploitation was acquitted on all charges on Monday, a verdict that upset many in the courtroom. Reports in the Craig Daily Press provided coverage throughout the trial, including the following information: The fact that Justin Folley sent sexually explicit text messages over a period of time to the victim in this case, who was 14 years old at the time, was not in question. Throughout the trial, the defense made one thing more than clear. It is not against the law for an adult to text sexually explicit messages to a minor as long as no images or videos were shared. While there was testimony, including from the victim herself, that images and a video had been sent, the District Attorney’s Office could not provide any copies of the alleged images or video, and as a result the jury acquitted Folley of all charges. The prosecution emphasized that the alleged images and video were sent through Snapchat, which has a short time before permanently deleting content. Folley was acquitted on 10 felony counts of Child Sexual Exploitation.
