Former Iowa City counselor's case in jury's hands

UPDATE: The second-degree sexual abuse case against a former Iowa City teacher is in the hands of the jury. Jurors will decide whether former Lemme Elementary Counselor Donald Clark had inappropriate contact with a 10-year-old child he was counseling.

Deliberations began about 2:30 p.m.

Clark, 41, faces 25 years in prison if convicted.

A veteran teacher and guidance counselor accused of sexually abusing a fifth-grade student, Clark took the stand in his trial Tuesday in Iowa City and unequivocally denied any wrongdoing.

Donald Clark, 41, said, he had never touched or rubbed his accuser's genitals, never placed a stuffed animal over his mouth to quiet him and never turned out the lights during a counseling session. He said he did close the door to his office when he saw students individually and he said he covered the small window in his office so other students couldn't see who was meeting with the counselor.

Clark faces 25 years in prison if convicted of second-degree sexual assault charges.

The victim, now 16, was in the fifth grade at Lemme Elementary School in Iowa City during the 2003-04 school year when he said Clark touched him inappropriately on two occasions.

In an interview with Iowa City police in June 2009, Clark said he was seeing the boy individually to deal with issues of motivation.

The boy was adjusting to a new school, Clark said. He was withdrawn and uninterested in school. “My job was to make him comfortable,” Clark said. Socially, the boy never improved, Clark said. He was always withdrawn.

Clark said he counseled the boy about 20 times during the fifth grade and fewer times during the sixth grade. He never wanted to talk about anything except everyday things. He fought with his brother a lot but wouldn't say anything more than, "I hate my brother.”

During his interview with police, Clark said perhaps the boy's withdrawal stemmed from concerns about his sexual orientation. Maybe he was fighting initial feelings of being gay, Clark said. Clark, who told the jury he is gay, said sexual orientation never came up during the counseling sessions although he thought the boy may have known Clark was gay as a result of a question from a student in the boy's classroom.

Clark said he had not seen the boy since he left Lemme Elementary in the spring of 2005.

Clark was the only witness in the defense case, and when his questioning was completed at 10:15 a.m., the state and defense both rested.

Only summations by the attorneys remain before the jury begins deliberations. The trial is expected to conclude tomorrow.

-- Elizabeth Kutter, news correspondent