Wetherington closed by asking the jury to consider Bennett’s character again.

“In nine months, these accusations have ruined the good name Mr. Bennett spent more than 12 years building,” Wetherington said. “He can never get it back because whether his name is cleared or not, there will always be whispers.”

The state attempted to rebut the defense’s portrayal of Bennett as a man of upstanding character. During her closing statement, Wood argued against Wetherington’s statements by questioning who really had a motive to lie.

“The only person with something to lose in this case is Mr. Bennett,” Wood said.

She then implored the jury to overlook Bennett’s good character and support from friends who admire his qualities.

“We’re not looking at the last 10 years. We’re looking at what he did to these two young girls between Aug. 8 and Aug. 23, 2007.”

Afterward, Wood revisited the testimony of defense witness Misty Watkins, the girls’ first grade teacher and a friend of Bennett.

“The mothers of both alleged victims testified that their children said they ‘loved Mrs. Watkins and that Mr. Bennett was so much different than Mrs. Watkins,’” Wood said. “Then Mrs. Watkins takes the stand and talks about what horrible children they were in her class.”

Wood further stated that Watkins’ testimony should not be considered reliable since she admitted that she fabricated information on the students’ reports cards about how “sweet” they were.

“I’m certain it’s not the policy of Sallas Mahone for teachers to falsify information,” Wood said. “The only thing that Mrs. Watkins has proven is that she is a liar and that she had an issue with Mrs. Folsom from the start, especially since Mrs. Folsom had reported her to the principal for not following protocol when her daughter was involved in a situation at school.”

Wood added that besides Watkins, none of the other character witnesses had anything negative to say about Deloach and Folsom or their credibility.

In addition, Wood asked, “Why would these kids make this up?”

She explored the night Deloach’s daughter came forward with the allegations. Before taking any actions, Deloach asked her daughter, “Are you sure? This could get Mr. Bennett in a lot of trouble. This could even get him fired.”

Deloach’s daughter replied, “I don’t want Mr. Bennett to get in trouble or get fired. I just want you to go to school with me tomorrow and ask him to please stop.”

“This does not seem like the statement of a child who just wanted to make up a story to get moved to another class or get Mr. Bennett fired,” Wood exclaimed. “This sounds like the statement of a child who has been violated and wants her teacher to stop touching her.”