By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A HIGH school track and field coach was yesterday acquitted of sexually assaulting an underaged male student at Doris Johnson Senior High School four years ago.

The jury returned a 6-2 verdict, clearing him on all three counts after nearly five hours of deliberation.Prosecutors had alleged that Robert Ayton, 54, touched the complainant inappropriately at the Cricket Club field during a cross-country meet sometime between October 1 and 31 in 2019. They further claimed the defendant had sexual relations with the teen at his home and at the school on two separate occasions between June 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, when the complainant was between 14 and 15.

The defendant, a Jamaican national, was a mathematics teacher at the school

Ayton faced two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor of the same sex and one count of indecent assault. He appeared relieved and exchanged congratulations with his counsel after Justice Guillimina Archer-Minns told him he was free to go.

The complainant claimed Ayton touched his genitals while giving him a massage for an injury at the cross-country meet. He further alleged that Ayton forced him to perform fellatio at knifepoint in the school gym, and on another occasion sexually assaulted him at his home after offering him a ride from a track meet. The complainant said the defendant locked him inside the house and assaulted him in the bathroom when he tried to retrieve the key

Ayton maintained his innocence throughout the trial and insisted the complainant was lying, though he could not explain why the accusations were made against him.

Vashti Bridgewater and Cashena Thompson prosecuted the case, while Mario Gray represented the accused.