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Nevada high court reverses teacher's kidnapping conviction

Posted at 1:58 PM, Jul 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-17 16:58:12-04

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court threw out a kidnapping conviction against a former Clark County teacher who was found guilty by a jury in 2016 for having a sexual relationship with a student.

The majority of the 19-year sentence was tied to the two counts of kidnapping for taking her to a hotel. The court agreed with Jason Lofthouse's attorneys, who had argued that prosecutors overreached when they charged Lofthouse with kidnapping, because his 2015 relationship with the 17-year-old student was consensual.

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The 17-year-old girl testified at Lofthouse's trial that the relationship was consensual.

The other charges related to sexual misconduct between a teacher and student were not dismissed.

Deputy Public Defender William Waters was not immediately available for comment. Chief Deputy District Attorney Stacy Kollins declined to comment.

13 Action News contributed to this report.