The jury took less than three hours to decide Sewell was not guilty:

After deliberating less than three hours, a Tarrant County jury found former Southlake elementary teacher Michelle Dawn Sewell not guilty Friday of charges of indecency and sexual assault of a 16-year-old family friend last March.

“For Michelle Dawn Sewell at long last it’s over,” defense attorney Bob Hinton said. “It’s a tribute to our system. It’s been a long year for Michelle, so now it’s time for her to get on with her life.”

[...]

Sewell, 28, had faced up to 20 years in prison on each of three counts of indecency with a child by contact and one count of sexual assault. She quivered and cried as she leaned into her attorney’s shoulder in the moments before the verdict was read.

When it became clear that she was acquitted on all charges, squeals of jubilation could be heard from her supporters. The boy and his relatives and friends sat stoically on the other side of the courtroom.

Her friend testified on Tuesday. From the Star-Telegram:

Jill Price grew more concerned last spring when her friend and Durham Elementary School teacher Michelle Sewell confided in her about a meeting with a Carroll High School student at her Grapevine apartment.

The 16-year-old student held Sewell’s hand, told her he had feelings for her, and they kissed, Price testified Wednesday.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God,’ � Price said as she fought back tears. “She had crossed the line. I was concerned for my friend.�

[...]

The emotional trial reached a peak Wednesday afternoon when state District Judge Scott Wisch warned courtroom visitors to tame their behavior toward each other after he received information about threatening glares and scowls in the hallway. The courtroom was packed with teachers and relatives of Sewell and the boy.

The boy was 16 years old, but Sewell was a third grade teacher.

In a written statement to police, the 16-year-old said Sewell performed sex acts on him at her apartment on March 4, 2005, and March 6, 2005, after the two went to a movie at Grapevine Mills mall.

Sewell told police that the boy was the aggressor and tried to kiss her at the movie theater.

This seems like a situation of he said – she said, but if Sewell’s friend is saying this then it certainly doesn’t help Sewell’s case.

Then again, you can’t know if Price was really that close of a friend. The media runs with stuff like this whether it’s true or not. She might have just been a co-worker who Sewell confided in.

And it’s not as if her story is really all the different from Sewell’s, it’s just a matter of who the aggressor was:

The 16-year-old student held Sewell’s hand, told her he had feelings for her, and they kissed, Price testified Wednesday.

[...]

Sewell told police that the boy was the aggressor and tried to kiss her at the movie theater.

Who knows?