FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A former swimming instructor who was convicted of molesting three young girls has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Francisco De Aragón looked at his family as he received four life sentences for molesting three of his students during a swim class in Deerfield Beach in 2015.
“This is not me. There is no justice in this sentence. There is no justice in putting a life sentence on a man who’s innocent,” De Aragon said in court, Friday.
“We got the sentence we asked for, we got life in prison,” said prosecutor Patyl Oflazian.
De Aragon’s family was in court, where they said the jurors made the wrong decision. “What went on in here is not a true representation of what went on that day in the pool,” said De Aragon’s father. “I think the jury got it wrong because it was presented weakly by the defense.”
All three victims, who were just 6 years old, said De Aragon touched them inappropriately while in the water. However, the defense had claimed it was technique.
“It was his pride and joy to know that saving somebody and being able to properly train them,” said De Aragon’s wife, Savannah.
However, the prosecution was able to argue their case and convince the jurors. “I don’t understand, in what swimming technique has it ever been taught that your hand would go inside of a child’s bathing suit bottom, and that your finger would then penetrate that child’s vagina,” Oflazian said.
De Aragon’s mother, Phoebe, who is also a swim instructor, offered her own explanation as to what happened. “When they don’t want to be there, they’re going to come up with an idea so that they don’t have to be there,” she said.
De Aragon’s family wouldn’t speak to 7News cameras, but it is likely that they will appeal the conviction.
“We’re going to fight because he’s innocent, and what they’re describing did not happen,” Phoebe said.
However, Oflazian simply believes De Aragon’s family is in denial. “When someone’s in denial, they will continue to proclaim their innocence,” she said.
De Aragon offered his own thoughts on the sentence. “The facts in this case show innocence, not guilty, not that I am some monster, not that I am some sort of molester, some secret pedophile,” he said.
He also said he forgives the young girls because they were not aware of what they were doing.
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