An elementary school teacher has been acquitted of disorderly conduct.

Terrance Francis Moericke, a Theodore Jamerson Elementary School teacher, was found not guilty by a jury of six on May 22 of Class Bmisdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Moericke had been accused of engaging in "inappropriate physical contact with several of his students" between Sept. 1, 2005, and Dec. 10, 2006.

Sheriff's department officers said he had been accused of lifting children by their backsides onto playground equipment.

Moericke was charged with disorderly conduct on April 20, 2007, the same day Francis Sammy Azure was charged with Class Amisdemeanor false information to law enforcement officers.

Azure was charged for denying knowing the alleged inappropriate contact by Moericke was going on, despite prior documentation. A jury found him guilty of the offense in January. South Central District Judge Tom Schneider gave him a one-year deferred imposition of sentence, which means the offense will be off Azure's record if he successfully completes a year of probation.

Theodore Jamerson Elementary School is on the campus of United Tribes Technical College.