The trial of a Waldorf man and former substitute teacher accused of sexually abusing one of his charges resulted in a guilty verdict on Tuesday.
Keith Allan Krikstan, 31, was found guilty of sex abuse of a minor for sending suggestive messages to a former student of his. Krikstan’s trial began last Monday. The jury was released to deliberate around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and returned the verdict in just three hours.
In her closing arguments Tuesday morning, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Freeman told the jury that Krikstan’s actions with the girl constituted exploitation, as he made requests of her for his own benefit. Specifically, Freeman said, soliciting the girl for pictures of herself both clothed and unclothed was for his sexual gratification and therefore to his benefit.
Freeman’s closing walked the jury back through the evidence presented in the trial, including reading through message exchanges between Krikstan and the victim, who was 12 at the time of their relationship. In one of the messages, Krikstan told the girl “God, I should stop talking to you, I am so corrupting you.” Another, in which he said she could send him pictures “if you ever shave” seemed to be referring to her genitals: “You’ll say I have a tiny [expletive], I already know that,” she responded. Pictures of the girl’s rear end sent to him, both clothed and naked, were also found in the search, along with others of her posed suggestively in front of a mirror.
Much of their communication was conducted over Snapchat, which Freeman said was an intentional choice on Krikstan’s part, as messages sent over that platform disappear after the app is closed unless the user takes measures to preserve them. No pictures were found on the victim’s phone, but the search of Krikstan’s phone revealed he’d taken screenshots of portions of Snapchat conversations and saved others on the app.
In the defense’s closing, attorney Makeba Gibbs put the onus more on the victim, and said the state’s evidence was “manufactured.”
“This case is about a girl seeking attention, who’d do anything including lying to get it,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs went on to say the victim was “obsessing” over Krikstan, as well as another adult male, and unreliable as she’d lied previously. The pictures, she said, were an act of desperation on the victim’s part to keep Krikstan’s interest.
“She got it in her mind that she needed to be with him and she sent those to keep it going,” Gibbs said. She also maintained there was no conclusive evidence Krikstan was the person the victim was communicating with on Snapchat.
Freeman took exception to the notion the victim was “playing games” with Krikstan in her response to Gibbs’ closing arguments.
“He’s the one playing games with a 12-year-old,” Freeman said. “How is this a game for [the victim] when she’s not the one who reported it?”
Krikstan is facing two more trials on April 29 and June 3 on unrelated charges in two separate cases. A sentencing date for Krikstan will be set on April 22.
Originally posted on The Maryland Independent:
https://www.somdnews.com/breaking/krikstan-guilty-of-child-sex-abuse/article_60ef2df1-77d7-5ccf-a631-2ff84a7c01d8.html