The parents of five Maryland students expressed their outrage Thursday after an Anne Arundel County elementary school teacher was acquitted of sex abuse charges. 

On June 18, Matthew Schlegel, 45, a third-grade math teacher at Severna Park Elementary School, was found not guilty of 18 counts of sexual abuse and sex offenses. The jury was unable to agree on three of the charges.

Attorney Thiru Vignarajah is representing the parents whose children testified at Schlegal's trial about allegedly being abused during classes. 

The five 10-year-old girls testified that Schlegel touched them inappropriately on several occasions.  

The parents claim Schlegel was wrongly acquitted.

Vignarajah says the parents feel betrayed by the justice system that is supposed to protect them and their children.

"When a number of the families reached out to me earlier this week, their frustration, their devastation, and their heartbreak were not abstract. It was rooted in a feeling of betrayal by the very systems they had come to Severna Park to trust," Vignarajah said in part.

Vignarajah added that the parents will continue to fight the acquittal however they can.

"They are going to fight, they are going to make clear that this is not the end, and they are going to do whatever is needed to ensure that justice is done for the sake of their daughters and the sake of their school," Vignarajah said.

The grandmother of one of the alleged victims said the fight for justice has "only begun."

"This fight is not over," said Donna Fava.

Schlegel returns to paid status after partial verdict

Schlegel was released on his own recognizance last week after the partial verdict.

In a bail review hearing, a judge ordered Schlegel's immediate release under the conditions that he does not have contact with the alleged victims or their families and cannot be unsupervised around minors.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools said Schlegel would return to paid status after a review.

A spokesperson told WJZ that the school district will finalize its review regarding Schlegel's job status and employment assignment "by our obligations under state law."

Not guilty verdict sparks controversy

Schlegel's five-week trial began on May 19. He faced 21 charges, including sexual abuse of a minor and assault.   

After learning of the verdict, the parents of some of the girls who testified expressed their disappointment.

"After the last one to two years of mental health struggles and picking my daughter back up and then putting her through hell, to sit there and face the man that (allegedly) abused her, I see her as the strongest little girl I've ever met," one mother told WJZ.

On Wednesday, a group of parents made roughly 2,000 pink signs in support of the young students who testified that Schlegel touched them inappropriately during class.

The signs planted across town read, "We stand with our girls" and "We believe them."

• Anne Arundel County