Sex case dropped against ex-coach

Victim would not talk, officials say

RALEIGH -- A former English teacher and track coach at Cardinal Gibbons High School had criminal sexual misconduct charges dropped against him Thursday because prosecutors couldn't get the victim to cooperate.

Justin David Scranton, 34, had been charged with taking indecent liberties with a student, a felony that could have carried a punishment of three months to a year in prison.

But Wake Assistant District Attorney Jeff Cruden dismissed the charges Thursday because the family of the student, 17 at the time of the incident in February, did not cooperate.

"We've gotten no response whatsoever and just complete refusal," said Fran Kennedy, a victim's witness assistant who works with Cruden.

The News & Observer does not typically identify those believed to be victims of sex crimes.

Scranton was arrested by Raleigh police after a teacher walked into a room where he reported seeing Scranton kissing the girl, according to police accounts. The student later told detectives that Scranton had touched her buttocks and breasts, kissed her and fondled her. Detectives said Scranton admitted acting inappropriately. The student told police that other female students had complained about the teacher, according to police documents.

But without cooperation from the victim, prosecutors said they couldn't go forward with the case.

"When we don't have cooperation on part of a victim, then we can't do anything," Kennedy said.

The girl and her parents had an initial meeting with prosecutors but never responded to further attempts at contact.

Duncan McMillan, Scranton's attorney, said he couldn't comment on Thursday's dismissal. Attempts to reach Scranton were unsuccessful.

After his Feb. 28 arrest, Scranton's family and parents of other students came to court hearings to support him. He had worked for seven years at Cardinal Gibbons, a private Catholic high school on Edwards Mill Road in West Raleigh. Scranton routinely took his cross country runners to regional and national races. During his time at Cardinal Gibbons, Scranton had been named Mid-State Cross Country Coach of the Year for 2006 and 2007.

This is the second case this week that Wake prosecutors have dropped because of a lack of cooperation from witnesses. On Monday, a murder charge against Miguel Goytortua was dismissed because witnesses refused to come to court to testify. Goytortua had been the only suspect in the death of Pablo Ambriz Ponce, a fruit vendor who was found shot in his stall at Watson's Flea Market on March 25.