KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A judge in Johnson County, Kansas, heard arguments Tuesday about whether stalking charges against a former Olathe elementary school teacher should be dismissed.
James Loganbill is accused of taking more than 200 photos and 31 videos of one of his fourth grade students last year – mostly of the student’s backside.
While he’s admitted to taking the photos and saying he found the girl sexually attractive, his attorney argues that’s as far as it went.
"This case, based upon what everybody knows the facts to be, shows that this is not a crime,” Loganbill’s defense attorney Carl Cornwell said.
Cornwell argues that under Kansas stalking statutes, the victim has to be in fear for the act to be considered stalking.
“(The victim) would have had to have known that the conduct alleged in the complaint placed her in immediate fear,” Cornwell argued.
Johnson County assistant district attorney Sarah Walton disputed that argument.
“If under Mr. Cornwell’s theory that it must be immediate, then the best stalkers would never get caught,” Walton said. “The purpose of the statute is to protect… to allow law enforcement a means to prevent violent behavior and a means to prevent things from escalating.”
Walton argued that there is no argument a victim be placed in immediate fear, and noted that once the girl and her family found out, they were afraid.
The judge is expected to make a ruling by the end of the week.
