A teacher at a Riverside high school who was charged with rape five years ago was acquitted on Monday, March 24, after a previous trial resulted in a hung jury.
Superior Court jurors in Riverside deliberated for four days before returning a verdict of not guilty in the case of Lucas Brian Hampton, 34, who taught world history, government and economics at Martin Luther King High.
The woman had no connection to the school or to the Riverside Unified School District, Riverside police said at the time of Hampton’s arrest in May of 2020.
She reported being raped in 2018 at Hampton’s home. A sworn declaration written by a Riverside police detective to obtain an arrest warrant said Hampton and the woman met on Bumble, an app that requires the woman to initiate the contact for man-woman meetups.
The woman told the detective that she went to Hampton’s home for dinner. There, he forcefully kissed her as he gave her a tour of the home. Then in his bedroom, he raped her, the woman said.
But police decided they did not have enough evidence of a crime to submit the case to the District Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges, police said. Then on Feb. 13, 2020, the DA’s Office asked for the case to be submitted. The Police Department did so without having learn any new evidence, police officials said.
The District Attorney’s Office then charged Hampton.
The first set of jurors announced they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict after deliberating only one day, and a mistrial was declared in August 2024. The second trial began in February.
“We are thankful the jury thoughtfully examined the evidence and had the strength to deliver the right verdict in a highly contested sex case,” Hampton’s attorney, Daniel DeLimon, said Tuesday in a text. “We also commend Mr. Hampton for always showing the strength to continue fighting for his innocence all these years, and we are thrilled to deliver the correct legal result for our client and his entire family.”
DeLimon did not represent Hampton in the first trial.
Hampton’s status with the school district was unclear Tuesday.
“The Riverside Unified School District placed Mr. Hampton on compulsory, unpaid leave as required by the California Education Code after the charges were filed against him,” spokesperson Elizabeth Pinney-Muglia said in an email. “The District cooperated with law enforcement in a limited capacity since the allegations were not related to RUSD, its students or other employees. There is no other information available at this time because this is an ongoing personnel matter.”
