Music teacher accused of giving girl foot rubs for his pleasure

Michael Waite, 42, of Mattydale, N.Y., faces 10 years in prison if convicted of sexual abuse of a child.

A private music teacher in New York state is on trial this week, accused of giving foot rubs to a girl for more than seven years, in which he allegedly rubbed the girl’s feet against himself for sexual gratification.

The defendant, identified as Michael Waite, 42, of Mattydale, near Syracuse, has denied the allegations, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported.

The unidentified girl testified Thursday that no other type of sexual contact took place, the report said. Although Waite is a teacher, the girl was not one of his students, the newspaper added.

According to the report, Prosecutor Jordan Aiello told the jury that the fact that the girl did not accuse Waite of a more serious offense suggests that she is telling the truth.

But defense lawyer David Zukher argued that the girl was lying, and that police had conducted a “shoddy” and shameful” investigation that produced no physical evidence.

Zukher called it a “he said, she said,” case, the report said.

But trial testimony indicates Waite admitted giving the foot rubs in text messages and in a wiretapped police interview, the newspaper reported. He told police her foot may have touched his private area by accident, the report said.

Waite faces a decade in prison if convicted.

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