A former history teacher at a Baltimore high school was found not guilty of rape Wednesday afternoon, acquitted of assaulting a 12-year-old neighbor who had run away from home.

The jury returned its verdict about three hours after closing arguments — their deliberations stalled by one juror’s removal. When the verdict was read, Lewis Laury Jr. embraced his attorney and sobbed.

“We’re very appreciative of the verdict,” defense attorney Jerome Bivens said, “and we just hope our client can move forward with his life.”

The case against Laury, 25, centered around one week last June when the girl stayed in his Pikesville apartment. She testified that she left home often and had met Laury one of those days, walking around the neighborhood. They soon started a sexual relationship, she said, with Laury under the impression that she was 22 years old.

“I knew that if he knew my real age, I would be declined,” she said Tuesday.

A 2021 graduate from Towson University, Laury taught history at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, his alma mater, until his arrest. When the girl stayed in his apartment, he was also clerking at a law firm in Frederick, where he was staying when she was found. According to her testimony, they had spent about four days together.

His accuser only appeared in the Baltimore County Circuit courtroom to testify. When she stepped off the stand, she was taken back to her family, and none of them returned to the three-day trial.

Laury’s family, however, attended each session and sat along the first couple of benches behind the defense table. When the last “not guilty” was uttered, they wrapped their arms around each other before walking up and hugging him. Two relatives ushered the freed man out of the courtroom as he wept, his elbows tucked loosely behind their necks, and the family’s celebrations had to be hushed by a sheriff’s deputy.

Assistant State’s Attorney Stacy Amparo declined to comment after Wednesday’s verdict.

In addition to the accuser, Amparo questioned two state witnesses, the case’s lead detective and a forensic nurse who examined the missing girl after she was found. Both said the accuser initially denied having sex — she testified that she “did not want (her) mom to find out” — but explained that it was a common response, a product of guilt, fear or shame.

Bivens, however, described the girl as “troubled” and suggested her conversations with law enforcement warped her story. Though no footage from a police interview was shown to the jury, both attorneys referenced it, saying the accuser never voiced having sex on camera, but that she had written it down on a chalkboard out of the camera’s view.

Compared to that shyness, Amparo commended the girl for coming forward when “she has nothing to gain.” She also argued that her specific memories — several charges were removed from the 24-count indictment after the girl said no sex happened on one day — and her transparency about past lies made her credible.

The state’s case relied heavily on testimony, but also included a medical exam that showed an injury “consistent” with sexual penetration.

Before the jury arrived for the day, however, Baltimore County Circuit Judge Colleen Cavanaugh said she believes the case “comes down to credibility.”

“And that’s something the jury will have to figure out,” she said.

Bivens’ closing argument condemned the state’s lack of DNA or other physical evidence, though its informality frustrated the judge. At one point, Bivens tried to illustrate how “messy” sex-related evidence can be by comparing it to stained papers on which he’d just spilled coffee.

The judge characterized parts of the argument as antics. But Bivens said they highlighted holes in the prosecution that provide a “light to shine on these dark cases.”

“You have to have reasonable doubt based on that alone,” he said.

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