The jury that will decide the case of a Montgomery County elementary school teacher accused of physically abusing her students has been selected.
Six men and six women were chosen to sit for 36-year-old Susan L. Burke’s trial on two counts of second-degree child abuse. Jury selection in Montgomery County Circuit Court lasted more than two hours Monday morning.
Prosecutors say Burke choked, kicked and punched her students as a means of punishment. Jurors will decide whether she intentionally harmed two Greencastle Elementary School students during the 2009-2010 school year, when Burke was their kindergarten teacher.
In October, Burke was acquitted of assault charges stemming from allegations that she choked students in her class the following school year, when she taught first grade at Greencastle.
The abuse and assault charges were uncovered during the same investigation but separated for trial.
In addition to standard questions asked in voir dire during criminal trials — such as whether the prospective jurors work in law enforcement or have previously served on a jury — the jury pool was also questioned about issues specific to Burke’s case. The jurors were asked whether they would be more or less likely to believe a child witness and whether they thought a child testifying about abuse must be telling the truth.
The prospective jurors were also asked whether they or someone close to them had been a victim of or investigated for child abuse. Eleven of the 55 members of the jury pool said they had.
