A Circuit Court jury Thursday acquitted a former Waipahu High School track coach accused of molesting a girl on the track team.
Erik Tamura was charged with felony sex assault for allegedly touching the girl’s breasts, buttocks and crotch at the school and once at her home. The incidents reportedly occurred during her sophomore and junior years in 2010 and 2011.
But after about six hours of deliberations on Wednesday and Thursday, the jury found Tamura not guilty of all charges.
Tamura wiped away tears after the verdict was announced, and some of his relatives and friends in the gallery also wept in relief.
Later, in the courthouse hallway, he declined to comment as he hugged his supporters.
"He’s overcome by emotion," Tamura’s attorney, Ken Shimozono, said. "He’s been waiting for this trial for a year and a half."
City Deputy Prosecutor Victoria Chang said she had no immediate comment.
The foreman of the jury of 10 women and two men also declined to comment.
Tamura, 38, was charged with three counts of third-degree sexual assault. Each count carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
Tamura did not take the witness stand, but his defense was that he was a victim of "teenager revenge" by the former high school student, now 18.
The defense contended the teenager had a motive to lie because she became upset when Tamura stopped his one-on-one coaching of her, which she felt would jeopardize her future in running.
The prosecution urged the jury to believe the girl and called Tamura a "master manipulator" who became friends with the girl and her family and then betrayed their trust.
But Shimozono noted that the school conducted its own investigation and concluded no action was warranted.
During the trial he criticized the police investigation that led to the charges. He said police failed to conduct a fair and full investigation.
The teenager’s testimony, Shimozono said Thursday, "made absolutely no sense, and the jury saw that."
Tamura, also an English teacher at Waipahu High School, was placed on administrative leave following his arrest in February 2012.
Shimozono, who handled the case with his partner, Myron Takemoto, said Tamura isn’t happy that the teenager came up with the false accusations, but harbors no bitterness toward her.
"He kind of feels sorry for her in the sense that she needs some help," Shimozono said.
The defense attorney said the teenager probably didn’t appreciate the seriousness of her allegations in testifying that she didn’t know the case would end up in court.
"She clearly didn’t understand the ramifications of what she was doing," he said.
Shimozono said he doesn’t know whether Tamura wants his teaching job back, but the defense attorney said he’s sure Tamura wants to resume coaching.
The teenager didn’t immediately report the alleged sexual assaults, testifying she was scared, embarrassed and hoped she could move on and concentrate on running.
The prosecution did not have any eyewitnesses to the sexual assaults, a point the defense suggested helped establish a reasonable doubt as to whether they occurred.
Shimozono contended the sexual assaults never happened.
But he indicated the stigma of the allegations will be hard to erase.
"There are no winners here because once you’re accused of this kind of thing, it’s very difficult to overcome even when justice is served in a case like this and the jury came to the right conclusion," he said.
