BLOOMINGTON - A former theater professor at Illinois State University was acquitted Tuesday of battery and official misconduct charges that said he kissed a student who contends the attention was unwanted.

Theater professor Patrick J. O'Gara, 63, faced two counts of official misconduct and one count of battery at a bench trial before Judge Scott Drazewski.

The judge granted a defense motion for a directed verdict that dismissed the official misconduct counts at the conclusion of the state's case. He acquitted O'Gara of battery after hearing from the defense's single witness.

Drazewski cited testimony from ISU senior Jay Worthington that the professor had kissed the student at least 50 times over the course of a year without being told that the behavior was bothersome.

"The charges make for good theater but the state is required to prove the charges," Drazewski said in making his ruling.

He said O'Gara may have violated a directive from the university to stop the conduct, but the matter should not necessarily have ended up in a criminal-court room.

After the acquittal, O'Gara exchanged hugs with a large crowd of supporters who surrounded him in the courtroom.

In comments afterward, O'Gara said he was "over the moon, after eight months of going to bed every night with a weight on my shoulder that I didn't feel was justified."

The theater professor said he was surprised by the allegations that his hugs and kisses were considered battery.

"I am a very expressive, emotional man. I'd never been told by anybody that I had been offensive," he said.

Worthington testified that he filed two complaints with the university's affirmative action office regarding the hugs and kisses. He admitted those complaints came after he was kissed many times.

The professor was told, according to testimony from ISU ethics officer Shane McCreery, to stop the behavior after Worthington's first complaint near the close of the spring 2006 semester.

On Aug. 18 alone, the student and professor had three encounters prior to auditions for school theater productions.

"He grabbed me rather forcefully, pulled me in and kissed me for an extended period of time on the mouth," Worthington said of his contact with O'Gara. He described the kiss as open-mouthed, "a romantic, sexual kiss."

Worthington said he believed the contact was made "as a sign of power, a bullying aspect, to show control and authority."

The student said he did not challenge his teacher for fear of retaliation. He denied that his reports to university officials and police were related to his opinion that O'Gara should not be head of the acting department.

Theater student Michael Miserendino viewed O'Gara's behavior with students differently. He said the encounters were non-threatening and helped students set aside any inhibitions they may have about showing their emotions.

"To be truthfully honest, I did not mind" the contact, he said.

Assistant State's Attorney Jane Foster argued that O'Gara's behavior was inappropriate.

"This professor should have known you don't kiss your students, the people you supervise," she said.