vigna. again, there were many. one person said, his mistake was not being able to change with the times. he wasn't able to change his affected ways, they were drawn to him and loved him like a local celebrity. another said we know he could never harm a student. he was the mayor of cloverly elementary school. here's a bit of background. john vigna wiped tears from his eyes several times as his wife, son, a former student, a former student's mother, and a former colleague spoke fondly of him. describing a continued greg gar you don't say strong man, but that stopped when two parents of the four victims spoke to the judge and directly at vigna. the now convicted former teacher listen stoically as the parents called him a monster who deserve nothing more than be locked up forever. one man read from a statement calling vigna a man who deserved nothing more than to be in a cage. telling vigna i grief for my beautiful girls feels like my life is held together with threads. john vigna was convicted of sexual abusing four v

vigna was kind and nice to many of his students. he alongside was improper with at least four after having been represented very well at trial. tried fairly and members of your community selected at random sat in judgment after five days and convicted him of these counts. . >> reporter: john vigna wiped tears many times as the hearing went on but as one of these parents looked him in the eye, said to him, your nightmares are just about to begin. paul wagner fox 5 local news. >>> the montgomery county teenager accused and cleared of sexu a that garnered national attention at rockville high school pleaded guilty to less series crime. jose admitted to possessing a lewd photo of a minor, earlier this year, he and another 18-year-old were excused of raping a 14-year-old in a bathroom at rockville high. defense attorneys insisted it was consensual and had she had sent photos. he still face as legal hurdle, he's from el salvador and in the u.s. illegally. unclear if he will be deported. >>> a toy poodle snapped after a woman was taking her

vigna taught third, fourth and fifth grades over the course of 20 years. the lawsuit against the school district was filed by a lawyer on behalf of one of those victims. he says there were several red flags that vigna was not safe. >> still ahead, president trump not giving up on his efforts for a overhaul. his new message to fellow republicans. >> and the war of words between president trump and north korea continues to simmer. how the communist country responded to the president's threats. >> and caught on camera. mayhem at a maryland mall. what led to this fight between an employee and a shopper. sue. >> hey, tony, shawn doesn't feel like a summer like. kind of feels like football weather. battle of the beltways, the preseason version. might be a passing brief sprinkle but temps really comfortable for this time of year and rain is in the forecast for friday and part of the weekend. we have been able to chase at least a little of that rain away. we'll fill in all the gaps for you when fox5 news at 6:00 comes right back. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> a load of nonsense, t

the attorney for one of the family members of vugna's -- vigna's victims read an emotional letter from parentses and talk about the day-to-day suffering the now 12-year-old is facing knowing that he was molesting the students. the family is suing montgomery county school. the principal reprimanded third grade teacher after he was caught having students sit on his lap. that was in 2008 and 2013. today's lawsuit alleges that the district could have stopped vigna then but was negly -- several third grade girls. the attorney for the family will dig to see if any other sexual molester teachers are working in the montgomery county public schools. >> documents that are reprimands for john vigna. i am opening up my discovery and i intend to seek documents for all teachers in the last five to ten years that have had reprimands. i am concerned there is a pattern of this going on through the school system where the teachers like vigna are left in the classroom with the children. nathan: the family is suing under a title ix case. so there is no cap to the amount of money they can sue for. we talk

they were wearing the shirts here that say "vigna strong." but a judge says that john vigna is the destroyer of children's souls. he was a long of time teacher, elementary school teacher at cloverly elementary school. he was convicted in june for sexually abusing four girls. they were in third grade at the time. he made a last-minute plea for leniency asking to take his life experience as a teacher, coach, father into account. judge could have sentenced him to 80 years in prison. unstead he was sentenced to 48 years in. >> he has been wrongly convicted. >> some of the kids are having emotionally hard times. really emotionally hard times. a tough time sleeping. , is about suicide -- issues about suicide. >> one of the fathers of the victims pointed his finger at vigna blaming him for troubles that his daughter was going through. it was very emotional in court. reporting live in rockville, nathan baca, abc7 news. alison: thank you. legal fight is brewing over a pesticide ban. the judge overturned a ban on certain pesticides on private lawns and

. >> meanwhile today former cloverly elementary school teacher john vigna was sentenced to 48 years in prison for sex abuse of multiple little girls. it was emotional day in montgomery county courtroom. both victims and his sup supporters were in court and they all had the chance to speak after the hearing. >> he is not a groomer nor predator. he has been wrongfully convicted. we will continue to fight until he is vindicated and justice is served. >> that's a very sad case because i'm sure there that every person who has a child in montgomery count school wants that child to be safe. wants every child to be wonderful. i'm sure mr. vigna was kind and nice to many students but he also acted improperly with at least four that he thousand stands convicted of after having been represented very, very well at trial, tried fairly and members of your community selected at random sat and judgment after five days and convicted him of these counts. >> vixt gna taught third, fourth and fifth grade over the course of 20 years and was convicted in june. >> and to follow up on a deadly shoot into nort

both victims and vigna's supporters were there. >>> time now is 8:38.n is will brides get their dresses? stay with us. we've got more on that story and more coming up. >> ♪ >> ♪♪ >> ♪ >> well, this is not what you want to hear if you're a bride who purchased a dress from alfred angelo bridal. the national chain which suddenly closed and filed for bankruptcy liquidation last month is telling customers if they haven't received their dress already they won't be getting it. they filed for bankruptcy on july 13th immediately closing its stores without any notice to employees. the national chain has 60 of its own stores and 1400 locations that sell its merchandise. >>> and some of your everyday costs are growing at a much brisker rate than overall inflation and some of are you feeling the crunch from that. here's foxes hillary vaughn with a look at your cash. >> reporter: americans are feeling the economic crunch. common expenses are growing quicker than the overall inflation rate. this definitely includes the cost of college tuition. the college board says t

vigna taught third, fourth and fifth grades over the course of 20 years.t will lawsuit filed against the district was filed by a lawyer on behalf of one of the there were several red flags that vigna was not safe. >> the d.c. fire departmentally is asking for your thoughts and prayers for dayne smothers jr. the rookie firefighter who was injured on the job is still in critical condition after three surgeries and a fourth one scheduled for today. members of the department spoke on behalf of dane's family who say they have been overwhelmed by support. even fire departments from around the country have been reaching out want to help. dane's instructor says he's always wanted to be a firefighter. >> the only way i can best describe him as my quiet before the storm. very quiet reserved very intelligent and you ask him a question he just smile give you those big white teeth but when you put him out on the yard dane always performed. very proficient with everything that he did. if he didn't get it right the first time, he definitely got it right the second time.

. >> documents that are reprimands for john vigna. i am opening up my discovery and i intend to seek documents for all teachers in the last five to ten years that have had reprimands. i am concerned there is a pattern of this going on through the school system where the teachers like vigna are left in the classroom with the children. nathan: the family is suing under a title ix case. so there is no cap to the amount of money they can sue for. we talk to the montgomery county schools. they have no comment on the pending litigation. reporting live in rockville, nathan baca, abc7 news. nancy: thank you. also new tonight, new developments of a former d.c. police officer accused of paying a teen for he used social media and offered to pay for sex. he could face life in prison. larry: they are 13 and 14 and killed a man after asking for money and then killing a man when he didn't have it. brad bell has more. brad: this happened at a park where tonight you can see the people are here practicing cricket. a park where children play. in fact, i

this comes just days after former cloverly elementary school john vigna was sentenced to 48 years invigna taught third, fourth and fifth grades over the course of 20 years and the lawsuit was filed by a lawyer on behalf of one of the victim t he says several red flags that vigna was not safe were ignored. >> we're following a developing story from the district now. d.c. police released this incredible video of a shootout between two men in southeast. a woman holding a baby ran for cover after nearly getting caught in the crossfire. she fell once but got up and kept going. the shooting happened last week in the 3600 block of 22nd street. one man was shot. he's expected to recover. >> and two teenagers who aren't even old enough to drive are charged in the murder of a homeless man at a park in adelphi. police say 14-year-old elias portillo and a 13-year-old boy approached francisco sagastizado and demanded cash. when he refused portillo allegedly stabbed him several times. portillo is charged as an adult. the 13-year-old is charged as a juvenile. >>> we're back with what's hot on the w

that he now stands convicted of after having been repr represented very, very well at trial. >> vigna taught third, fourth and fifth grade over course of 20 years and was convicted in june. >> montgomery county teenage areas caused and cleared of sex assault charges at rockvi pleaded guilty to a less serious crime. 17-year-old jose mvrments ontano had a lude photo of minor on his phone. earlier this year montano and an 14-year-old were accused of raping a girl in a bathroom. they said the girl prosecutors later determined there was not enough evidence to support the initial rain allegations. >>> all right. we're tracking some severe weather in both virginia and maryland tonight. although it looks clear in the district. >> let's go owe to gwynn. she has the latest on that, hi there, gwynn. >> a must be of warnings continue to pop up tonight associated with an approaching frontal sim. let's put it altogether and see what's happening 230u. severe thunderstorm warning until 10:30 for carol, frederick, loudoun and washington county. no, i washington county and frederick in maryland loudoun

the parents of one of john vigna's victims say the school knew about the abuse and failed to stop him. the school district will not comment on this. prince george's county public schools has a new education board. dr. donna weissman will replace dr. beverly anderson who resigned last month. jonathan: a big change is coming to the commuters on 395. transportation reporter brianne carter shows us the the interstate. brianne: designed to ease congestion and commutes. eight miles of toll lanes will soon be up and running in northern virginia. wednesday morning governor mcauliffe and others officially broke ground on the new express lanes along 395. the project will change the two h.o.v. lanes now designed for carpoolers to three express toll lanes. the lanes will operate just like the tolls along 95 but 15 million collected annually from this stretch will go toward other transportation improvements. including new buses and the bridge rehabilitation. >> 395 express lanes project will benefit the military, civilian and the contract employees. who work at and near pentagon. brianne: it is al

former cloverly elementary teacher john vigna was sentenced to 48 years prison friday. he was convicted of sexually molesting four third grade girls. now - the family of one of those girls is suing the school district. their attorney tells abc7 news they will announce the lawsuit later today. the school district will not comment. this morning, we're getting an update on the condition of d-c firefighter dane smothers. the 28-year-old was critically injured a week ago when a ladder truck hit him at the scene of a fire. his family members and fellow firefighters will be holding a news conference at 10:30 this morning. it was a case of mistaken identity- that got a local football player kicked off the cowboys! the upda look -- police say deyvon newman on the left is the guy who told officers he was lucky whitehead! when in trouble for shoplifting -- newman gave police all of whitehead's information, even his social security number! when newman didn't show up for court, a warrant was issued for whitehead and he was fired from the cowboys. police are looking for newman, who n

this comes just days after former cloverly elementary schoolteacher john vigna was sentenced to 48 years sexually abusing multiple little girls em thought third, fourth and fifth grade over the course of 20 years. the lawsuit against the school district was filed by a lawyer on behalf of one of the victims. >> we're following a developing story from the district. d.c. police released this incredible video of a shooting between two men in southeast. a woman holding a baby ran for cover after nearly getting caught in the crossfire. she fell down once but she got up and kept going. the shooting happened last week in the 3600 block of 22nd street. one man was shot. he's expected to recover. >> two teenagers who aren't even old enough to drive are charged in the murder of a homeless man at a park in adelphi. police say 14-year-old elias portillo and a 13-year-old boy approached francisco sagastizado and demanded cash. allegedly stabbed him several times. the 13-year-old is charged as a juvenile. >> plans to build a natural gas pipeline under the potomac river in western maryland is drawing co

. >> jury convicted vigna in june for sexually abusing children and he was sentenced to 48 years in prison. >>> two teenagers age 13 and 14 facing murder charges tonight, accused of stabbing a homeless man to death. elias portillo is being the murder happened july 27th at a park in adelve phi. >> i can't say that all 14-year- olds are charged as an adult when it comes to murder but in this particular case our detectives believe because of the robbery, because of the heinous nature of this crime, that being charged as an adult was warranted. >> charging papers say a witness recognized the boys when they returned to the scene of the crime weeks later. police say the 13-year-old admitted to the crime. 14-year-old portillo did not. >>> the d.c. firefighter who was badly hurt responding to a call last week was scheduled to undergo more surgery today. would be the fourth operation for dane smothers who remains in critical condition tonight. the 28-year-old rookie firefighter had been out of the academy for only three months. he was hit by a ladder truck last week while responding to a fire in no

vigna taught at cloverly elementary and preyed on children for 15 years. despite the charges, dozens of people showed up at court yesterday and spoke in his defense. >> the circuit court judge who presided over this case, he thought the jury got it right and so do we. >> we will continue to fight until he is vindicated and justice is >> the victims' families say he caused them so much suffering some contemplated suicide. >>> metro transit police looking for a guy accused of taking up-skirt pictures of women. there is a picture here of the person police are looking for. the woman says she was on the escalate tore at the columbia heights station when she felt a hand up her skirt on thursday. surveillance shows the suspect holding a phone at that time. police also have evidence he targeted other women. one metro rider says it certainly makes her nervous. >> outrage and violated. it's scary someone would be on the metro doing something like that. it's crazy. >> metro transit police want you to give them a call if you see this suspect or have any information. >

vigna was convicted of touching children inappropriately.e taught at cloverly for decades and preyed upon several young girls during a period of 15 years. despite the charges, dozens of people showed up in court and spoke in his defense. >> the circuit judge that presided over this case thought the jury got it right and so do we. >> we will continue to fight until he is vindicated and justice is served. >> the victims' family says he caused them so much suffering some contemplated suicide. >>> looking for a guy accused of taking up-skirt pictures in the metro station this week. take a look at the man police are look for. a woman said she was on the escalateor heights station when she felt a hand up her skirt and he had a camera with him at that time and he targeted other women. one metro rider says it makes her nervous. >> outraged and violated, scary someone would be on the metro doing something like that. it's crazy. >> metro transit police want you to give them a call if you see this suspect or have any other information about this case.

vigna taught third, fourth and fifth graders in silver spring.r students reported that he touched them inappropriately. >>> the i-team is working for you with a year-long investigation into teacher special about how some teachers slipped through the cracks and what parents can do to make sure their children are safe. tune in your dvr for august 13th at 11:00 a.m. >> this is the weekend to go shopping if you want to save some money on all those back to school items you need for your kids. you can shop tax-free in virginia. >> justin finch it live in fairfax with a look at how you can save on clothes or ee tensions for the house. hey, justin. >> reporter: aaron, that's right. ask a lot of parents and they will tell you that back to school shopping will get expensive. averaging hundreds of dollars. this weekend in virginia, a break. the state sales tax is off. these back to school deals are on. families listen up. you have until now until sunday night to get spending. you will find clothing and footwear $100 and less will be tax-free. your school su