Families of three girls who falsely accused teacher of sexually abusing them must pay him $360,000 in damages

• Parents, girls ordered to pay $362,653 compensation for defaming ex-teacher John Fischler
• He was falsely accused of inappropriately touching children and peeking into their bathroom
• The San Jose man sued for nearly $1 million in damages claiming three families spread false rumors about him
• The 49-year-old won the civil suit on Friday
• Families say the decision could have 'chilling effect on legitimate abuse victims'
  

PUBLISHED: 11:27 EST, 17 November 2013 | UPDATED: 18:33 EST, 17 November 2013
An ex-Catholic school teacher branded a 'perv' and 'creeper' by parents and students who accused him of inappropriately touching schoolgirls has won a defamation case.
John Fischler, 49, was awarded $362,653 in compensation on Friday after jurors found the three families' false statements damaged the Holy Spirit school teacher's reputation.

The Santa Clara County Superior Court panel also found that one of the girls - the 'ringleader' who was 11 at the time - acted with malice and is liable for punitive damages. The amount will be decided in the second phase of the trial starting Monday.

Former Holy Spirit Catholic school teacher John Fischler was called a 'creeper' who inappropriately touched kids and peeked into their restroom by schoolgirls

'I'm grateful the jury was able to see through the smoke screen and the truth came out,' Fischler told San Jose Mercury News. 'There's always going to be a scar. But the jury saw through the deception.'
Fischler filed the lawsuit last month alleging he was the victim of a 'conspiracy' by 'classic bully parents' and a popular girl with a 'gang-leader-like personality'. 

 

In 2009, an 11-year-old girl said Fischler touched her buttocks while instructing her to perform a squat thrust, according to UPI.

He said he only touched her hips and was disciplined by school administrators for violating their no-touching policy.
In 2010, a group of girls including a sibling of the girl from the earlier incident said Fischler barged into a girl's bathroom where several of them were changing and leered at them.
A police investigation revealed Fischler was forced to enter because the girls were shrieking.
Police later found that the accusers coerced the other girls into lying to administrators about Fischler's conduct in an attempt to get him fired.

John Fischler was a gym teacher when he was accused of inappropriate behavior

Even though he was cleared of wrongdoing, his name was listed for months on a state database available to law enforcement and other agencies seeking to screen employees who have contact with children.
He no longer works at the school.
While Fischler said he felt 'vindicated', the families and their attorneys were reportedly shocked by Friday's decision. 
Lawyer Lee J. Danforth said the verdict would have a chilling effect on the reporting of school abuse.

'If this trial prevents one little girl or one mother or father from reporting suspected abuse, then this is profoundly sad for our society,' he said.

However Fischler's lawyer, Robert Vantress, said that the families gossiped about the allegations rather than merely reported them to school authorities.

San Jose Mercury News reported the jurors came down hardest on the 'ringleader' student and the mother of the other two girls.
It was reported the now 14-year-old girl's attitude alienated jurors, who sat grim-faced when she twice got off the witness stand and demonstrated a dance move and chant a school cheer.