FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office in Riverhead, N.Y., shows foster parent Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu. An attorney for the foster parent accused of sexually abusing his foster sons over two decades said Friday, April 21, 2017, that no forensic, medical or physical evidence suggests his client committed the abuse.(Suffolk County District Attorney's Office via AP, File) (The Associated Press)
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. – A New York foster parent who took in more than 100 boys over two decades and was accused of sexually abusing some of them has been acquitted of all charges.
A Suffolk County jury returned the not-guilty verdicts Tuesday following seven days of deliberations.
Cesar-Gonzales-Mugaburu (gahn-ZAH'-leyz moo-gah-BOO'-roo) was acquitted on 17 counts of sex abuse and other charges. His attorney argued that the eight former foster children had lied about the abuse.
Prosecutors contended the crimes occurred between 1996 and 2016. The children had mental, intellectual, emotional and behavioral issues.
If he had been convicted of the most serious charges, Gonzales-Mugaburu could have faced 25 years to life in prison.
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