The trial for a Menlo Park resident accused of child molestation was reset Tuesday, an act that will refresh the jury pool and his defense attorney.
Horacio Carlos Teran, Menlo Park resident, was charged with five counts of committing lewd acts on a minor and has been fighting those charges in San Mateo County courtrooms since then.
Teran’s first trial ended in a mistrial in September 2012; his second trial in March 2013 also ended in mistrial, according to San Mateo County District Attorney’s records.
At the time, Teran was represented by criminal defense attorney Michael Armstrong, of Nolan, Barton, and Armstrong LLP.
Patch learned that Teran hired a new defense attorney named Patrick E. Clancy who works with a group of California attorneys in an organization called The Innocence Legal Team. The Innocence Legal Team specializes in representing people who are accused of child molestation.
Cases like this one are unusual in Menlo Park, California, which has about 32,000 residents, according to the 2012 U.S. Census. About 25 percent of those residents are less than 18 years of age.
Menlo Park Police records show that three incidents of child molestation were reported in 2010, the year that the charges were originally filed against Teran. The next year, that number increased to seven. In 2012, six adults were charged with committing lewd acts on children in Menlo Park.
Teran’s new trial date is September 30, 2013. He is out on a $50,000 bail.
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