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Opening statements begin in former Hilton principal’s trial

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Rochester, New York – The trial of Kirk Ashton, the former administrator of Northwood Elementary School in the Hilton Central School District who is accused of sexually abusing more than twenty children, started with opening remarks on Tuesday.

An ex-Northwood student who was the first witness called by the prosecution claimed that over the course of several school years, Ashton repeatedly made the student sit on his lap, stroked his neck, and made inappropriate physical contact with him.

The second witness, a Northwood student’s mother, said about an interaction with her son during which he showed reluctance to attend a meeting in Ashton’s office.

According to the mother’s child, Ashton would ask the boy to sit on his lap before touching him undressed.

A Greece Police Department technician gave a deposition on the execution of a search warrant at Northwood Elementary in 2021. Numerous images of Ashton’s office, the scene of the majority of the alleged abuse, were shown to the jury. Many framed images, largely of young, male students, including one of a boy sitting on Ashton’s lap, could be found in his office.

From 2004 until 2021, Ashton, 51, was Northwood’s principal. He was detained in April 2021 on suspicion of sexual assault.

26 accused victims, aged 10 to 21, are anticipated to testify in front of the jury in the coming days.

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