LEBANON — A Spring Valley mother recklessly damaged the reputation of a former Waynesville chemistry teacher when she falsely accused him of fondling and sexually harassing female students, a Warren County jury decided Tuesday.

        After four hours of deliberation, the jury awarded Donald Tharr $17,000 in compensatory and punitive damages and ordered defendant Mary Raab to pay his attorney fees.

        “The money was not an issue here,” Mr. Tharr said, explaining that the jury's decision clearing his name was more important than the damages awarded.

        He and his attorney, John D. Smith, had maintained that Mrs. Raab published scathing lies about Mr. Tharr to get him fired because she didn't like his teaching methods.

        Mrs. Raab anonymously wrote the letter to school officials asking that it be included in Mr. Tharr's personnel file at a time when he was under fire from new superintendent Thomas Isaacs.

        At the time, Mr. Isaacs was soliciting the public for information about Mr. Tharr, a 27-year veteran with a stellar performance record, after questioning his teaching abilities and hearing rumors about his treatment of female students.

        Mr. Tharr was later demoted to a non-teaching job after he was accused of trading commodities on a school computer during class time. He eventually retired from the district on a medical disability he said was brought on by the unwarranted personal attacks.

        On Monday, Mr. Tharr refiled a lawsuit against Mr. Isaacs seeking $150,000 in damages.

        During the five-day trial, several of Mr. Tharr's former students testified that he leered at them, made sexually suggestive gestures or touched them in a way that made them feel uncomfortable. Mr. Tharr admitted that he once held up a yard stick to measure a female student's buttocks.

        Mrs. Raab sat sullenly between her attorneys as the verdict was read, then hugged and thanked one of them before leaving the courthouse with family.

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