Former Montgomery County Public Schools teacher John Vigna, 56, faces new charges months after his convictions of sexually abusing minors were vacated, and he was released on bond.
In 2017, Vigna was sentenced to 48 years in prison for assaulting four female students over a 15-year period. He worked for MCPS from 1992 to 2016 and taught third through fifth grade at Cloverly Elementary School in Silver Spring, according to court documents.
Vigna had a series of hearings from November 2022 to March 2023, and on July 7, Circuit Court Judge David Lease ruled that Vigna’s attorney was ineffective and granted Vigna a new trial, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
He was released on bond on Sept. 18. At the time, police said additional victims had come forward to report having been sexually abused by Vigna.
His retrial is scheduled to begin on April 22.
On Nov. 30, a new case was filed against him, charging him with sexual abuse of a minor and multiple third-degree sex offenses, according to digital court records.
According to the indictment document, Vigna had “temporary care and custody and responsibility for the supervision of” the victim, who is now 20 years old. The sexual offenses occurred between Aug. 1, 2011 and June 30, 2014, the indictment document said.
The scheduling hearing for Vigna’s new case will be on Dec. 22, according to digital court records. Vigna’s attorneys, Isabelle Raquin and Stephen Mercer, could not be reached for comment over the phone Wednesday.
The county State’s Attorney’s Office said that they have filed a motion to combine his two cases.