A Howard Circuit judge denied a new trial Friday for the former River Hill High School teacher convicted of sexually abusing a Howard teenager by pulling down the boy?s pants and photographing him nude in a classroom after school.
Alan Beier, 53, of Columbia, was not present in court, but his attorney Joshua Treem argued that Beier deserved a new trial because his actions did not constitute sexual exploitation.
He said Beier never touched the boy or looked at his genitals and was not aroused by the photographs.
“There was no sexual contact, no touching,” Treem told Judge Diane Leasure.
“… There has to be some sexual benefit or else parents taking pictures of kids running naked on the beach could be exploitation.”
But Deputy State?s Attorney Mary Murphy said there was “more than ample evidence” that Beier sexually exploited the teenager, who is now 18, and Beier?s actions were for his sexual benefit.
Murphy recounted the boy?s testimony during the March trial, in whichhe said Beier asked him to come to the Clarksville school about 6 p.m. Jan. 8, 2007, and bring a bathing suit to pose in test photographs for the “Mr. River Hill High School” contest.
Beier then twice pulled down the boy?s boxer shorts and took photos of his exposed backside and of the boy covering his genitals with a ping-pong paddle, Murphy said.
Howard police later found photos of the boy uploaded onto two of Beier?s computers, Murphy said.
However, Leasure is considering whether to allow Treem?s request for a court hearing to challenge the affidavit police used to get a search warrant.
She will rule on that motion Monday when Beier is scheduled for sentencing on child sex abuse and second-degree assault convictions. He could face up to 35 years in prison.
Beier is the one of three Howard County public school teachers to be arrested during 2006-07 for accusations of having sexual contact with students.
Former Glenelg High School teacher Joseph Ellis, 27, was sentenced in April to five years in prison for sending one of his students sexually explicit e-mails, text messages and photos, and exposing his genitals to her.
Kirsten Kinley,28, a former special education teacher at Marriotts Ridge High School in Marriottsville, is serving 18 months after pleading guilty in August to a sex offense with a teenage boy.
