Fighting Back: Georgia Teacher Acquitted of Molestation Sues Accusers
June 2, 2010— -- Three weeks after she was acquitted of molesting three children including her own daughter, a former Georgia teacher has filed a $25 million lawsuit against her accusers, including her ex-husband.
"The lawsuit is set in place to hold people accountable for these false allegations, for this not to happen again," Tonya Craft told "Good Morning America."
Craft, 37, is also suing the parents of the two other children she was accused of molesting during sleepovers with her daughter as well as the sheriff and other county workers who she said "repeatedly and suggestively questioned" the children until they believed she had touched them inappropriately.
The Catoosa County, Ga., Superior Court jury returned its verdict last month after nearly two days of deliberation in the trial. The former Chickamauga Elementary School teacher faced 22 charges of child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated child molestation.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in hopes a judge will force the court Craft was tried in to change their practices when it comes to interviewing children.
Her lawyer, Demosthenes Lorandos, said Craft's case was a prime example of "incompetent interviewing" of children and that they believe the three children, including Craft's own daughter, were force-fed false memories, either intentionally or unintentionally.
Craft said she is not angry with her 8-year-old daughter for testifying against her.
"I think you get past it as a mother, that you unconditionally love your child," she said.
"She either has memories falsely that have been implanted or she's been manipulated," Craft said. "But it's not her fault."
Likewise, Craft said she considered the other two children victims.
Craft is also suing her ex-husband for full custody of the couple's two children. Her daughter and son, nearly 11, were taken away from her two years ago when the molestation accusations were first leveled against her.
Now living in Tennessee, Craft keeps bedrooms in her home decorated for both of them in case they get to come home.
She has seen them briefly since the trial ended and wears a pendant around her neck with their pictures.
"Every second is cherished," she said of her visits with them.
