Former Band Director Ordered To Stand Trial

Wednesday, May 16th 2007, 7:38 am

By: News On 6

A former Hilldale band director is headed to trial on molestation charges. A Muskogee County judge decided Wednesday there is enough evidence against Brian Giacomo to move forward, and the prosecution even added a new charge to the list. Giacomo is not only going to trial, but he now faces a fourth charge of lewd molestation. The News On 6's Ashli Sims reports the new count stems from an incident his teenage accuser says happened at Giacomo's house.

Kissing on school property, sexual advances through MySpace, instant messaging, and a tryst at his house where things got physical, that's what a Hilldale sophomore says happened between her and her band teacher, Giacomo.

"My client asserts he's innocent in this matter, and my job is to get to the bottom of it," said defense attorney Richard Oâ€™Carroll.

Giacomo has walked the steps of the Muskogee County courthouse twice this week. His teenage accuser spent Monday on the witness stand, sometimes tearful, other times defiant. She told the court of a sexual incident that happened at Giacomo's house, but couldn't recall some specifics, when questioned by the defense.

"We have nothing in our records to indicate that she's being dishonest,â€ said assistant district attorney Nikki Baker Dotson. â€œEverything corroborates the evidence, and we feel confident in our case."

After a full day's testimony by Giacomo's teenage accuser, a judge decided there was enough evidence to bind the former band director over for trial.

"I'm happy with the court's decision,â€ said Dotson. â€œOf course we felt like we had probable cause, otherwise we wouldn't have filed the charges. So now we're just getting ready for trial."

The preliminary hearing ended without the defense calling any witnesses. So, Giacomo still hasn't really told his side of the story, but his lawyer remains confident.

"My client's holding up. This is hard on him, but he's working every day,â€ said Oâ€™Carroll. â€œHe's with his family. And he has a lot of friends and support. And we're going to go through this process. And it is a process and it will take time."

The court will decide in June when Giacomo will go to trial. In the meantime, he still faces another set of charges by a different teenage accuser.

Watch the video:

Former Band Director Charged With Molestation Headed To Trial

Related stories:

11/15/2006 Former Muskogee Teacher Arrested

11/22/2006 Former Muskogee Band Instructor Out Of Jail

1/25/2007 More Charges Filed Against Former Muskogee Band Director

2/15/2007 DNA Samples Taken In Teacher Sexual Misconduct Case

5/14/2007 - Former Band Director In Court Facing Molestation Charges