A Tyrone man

was cleared Wednesday of charges that he molested his son after a Fayette

County jury found him not guilty in Superior Court.

Andrew Clayton

Vansant, 30, took the stand in his own defense during the two-day trial,

claiming he never molested his son. The boy's mother, who is married to

another man, had testified that her son told her of the alleged transgression

while using the restroom at a Subway restaurant in Peachtree City in Feburary

2002.

The jury saw

a videotape of the first forensic interview of the boy, then 5, as he

specifically said "Drew" Vansant didn't molest him.

Another expert

who later interviewed the boy over a period of time testified that he

later admitted that Vansant molested him at Vansant's parent's home in

Tyrone. But none of those interviews were taped.

When Vansant

testified, he denied molesting his son. In an often heated exchange with

Assistant District Attorney Dan Hiatt, Vansant admitted that he had been

molested by his grandfather at his grandparents home in East Point when

he was a young boy.

Vansant said

he kept the incident secret until years later when he revealed it to a

youth church group.

"I didn't

tell anyone because my grandfather died shortly thereafter," Vansant

said.

An expert testifying

for the defense said the memories of very young children can be deemed

unreliable.

The victim

did not testify during the trial, but his mother, Amy Reynolds Waldrop,

testified about what he said when he first told her about the alleged

molestation.

Waldrop said

she thought her son was molested when he visited Vansant on the weekends

before Vansant terminated his parental rights in April of 2000.

Vansant said

it was a difficult decision to give up parental rights to his son, but

he didn't want the child to be confused about who his father was. He said

he later regretted the decision after learning Waldrop was with another

man who was not her husband.

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