Santee

After six days of deliberations, a jury acquitted a former Santee Elementary School District substitute teacher of 10 child molestation counts.

The San Diego Superior Court jury deadlocked in favor of acquittal on six other molestation charges against John Busker of La Mesa, who turns 28 today.

Judge Thomas Whelan dismissed the remaining charges, leaving Busker, who now works in a restaurant, free of any criminal charges since his Dec. 20, 1989, arrest.

Eight girls testified that he touched them inappropriately last fall in the classroom at the Chet F. Harritt Elementary School in Santee where Busker had worked. Half of the charges were misdemeanors.

The alleged incidents took place in class with 30 other students present, but no other students testified they saw it occur except for the girls who said it happened to them.

“There were some charges that didn’t match the testimony, so that brought some ‘not-guiltys,’ ” one juror said afterward.

In Busker’s first trial, jurors acquitted him of one count, deadlocking on the remaining 16 other charges last June.

Busker denied molesting any of the girls while testifying in both trials.

After the verdict, Busker said he might try again to be a teacher but would take some time off first.