Mass. Gay Activist Not Guilty of Groping Teen

Albert M. Toney III, a gay activist and former police officer in Worcester, Mass., was found not guilty Thursday of indecent assault and battery stemming from the accusation that he grabbed a male teenager's buttock inside the YMCA last year.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports on the decision announced by Judge Michael G. Allard-Madaus, who presided over the bench trial for Toney. Toney's husband, daughter and a crowd of supporters were in the courtroom.

The accuser, now 19 and majoring in criminal justice at Westfield State University, had maintained that Toney grabbed his buttock in the Main Street YMCA locker room in June 2010 and invited him into the steam room. He testified that he went to his car after the alleged incident and grabbed a bat and chain with the intention of hurting Toney, but a man in the parking lot persuaded him to file a report with the YMCA instead.

Defense lawyer Christopher LoConto pointed out inconsistencies in the accuser's story.

"Many times the accuser forgot details of that day, including what kind of car he was driving," reports the Telegram & Gazette. "Mr. LoConto pointed out that the accuser was driving a Mercedes-Benz that day and not a Toyota Camry, the car the teenager said he was driving."