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Md. Teacher Found Not Guilty Of Hurting Students

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) -- A Montgomery County elementary school teacher has been acquitted on charges that she choked and scratched some of her students.

The jury returned the verdict Friday afternoon, finding Susan Burke not guilty of all charges.

Several students testified that Burke had hurt them when she was angry, but Burke denied on the witness stand that she ever choked the children.

She and her attorney said she used physical contact to break up fights among students or to redirect them if they were misbehaving.

Burke was a teacher at Greencastle Elementary School in Silver Spring. She was accused of assault during the 2010-2011 school year and was arrested last February. She was placed on administrative leave.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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