The founder of a Shawnee Christian school has redeemed himself in front of a jury concerning accusations of molesting children at the school. Dennis Creason was found not guilty at trial Tuesday, according to the Johnson County District Attorney’s office.
Creason talked to reporters outside the courthouse. “My hope’s in God. That’s greater than anything, and there’s nothing that will ever shake that,” Creason said when asked how he felt about the court process.
Creason, 49, was charged in August with nine counts of aggravated indecent liberties with children. Three of the counts were dropped before he was found not guilty of the other six Tuesday. He took the stand in his own defense Monday.
Creason’s defense team described the accusations he faced as a terrible game of telephone where parents called each other with gossip and planted ideas in the heads of the girls.
The courtroom had been filled with both the families of alleged victims and families at the school who supported Creason.
Creason founded and operated Oaklawn Christian School. He was accused of “lewd foundling or touching” of children under the age of 14 starting in 2009 and extending to early 2018.
The charges in Johnson County District Court included three counts of aggravated indecent liberties – lewd touching of a child under the age of 14. The incidents occurred between January 2015 and August 2018.
Oaklawn was founded in 2007 and is a relatively small and unknown school in the area. It served pre-K through sixth grade students, with a focus on art, music, and nature-based programs. The school closed following Creason’s arrest.
Just last week, a Utah man died from injuries suffered from a revenge attack after he was falsely accused of rape of a minor. The girl had called her brother saying she was attacked on a city bus. The brother arrived and brutally beat the man causing severed internal trauma, brain damage and bleeding. Surveillance video showed the incident did not take place. Police continue to investigate and have yet to locate and arrest the accuser or the attacker.
