Colts Neck Youth Tennis Pro Guilty Of Sex Crimes Against Student: Jury

FREEHOLD, NJ – A former youth tennis instructor has been convicted of numerous sexual crimes against a student over the course of more than a year, starting when she was 12, and could face life in prison when he is sentenced, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said.

Terry Y. Kuo, 32, of Colts Neck was found guilty by a jury Wednesday, following a two-week trial held before Monmouth County Superior Court Criminal Division Presiding Judge Jill G. O’Malley.

The case stemmed from an investigation begun after one of Kuo’s students alleged that he had engaged in various instances of sexual misconduct on multiple occasions from August 2016 through November 2017.

“The conduct of this defendant, so thoroughly outlined by our prosecutors during the course of this trial, was nearly incomprehensibly manipulative and predatory,” Santiago said. “We sincerely thank the jury for carefully weighing the facts and reaching the appropriate conclusion.”

Sentencing in the case has been scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1, at which time Kuo could face a term of up to life in state prison.

Kuo has been detained at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold Township since his arrest in Nov. 2017, his attorney confirmed. Joshua Nahum, Millburn, who represented Kuo at trial, said Wednesday that Kuo has previously stated he would appeal a conviction.

Kuo's previous trial in the matter ended in a mistrial when he urinated in the courtroom during jury selection on Feb. 8, after saying he needed to urinate.

He is also charged in a separate indictment in a credit card fraud operation. That case is pending, the prosecutor's office confirmed Wednesday.

In the sexual crimes case, an investigation by members of the Marlboro Township Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau and Computer Crimes Unit resulted in the recovery of digital files containing child sexual abuse material on the defendant’s electronic devices, as well as evidence of sexual crimes committed against the victim, the prosecutor said.

With digital and physical evidence, as well as witness testimony – including from the now-19-year-old victim – the state proved that Kuo showered her with gifts such as expensive electronics, jewelry, and designer clothing and accessories while coercing her into engaging in sexual activity with him, according to the prosecutor's office.

Kuo was arrested in Marlboro in November 2017 and initially indicted in February 2018. Superseding indictments were filed upon the recovery and review of additional evidence, in December 2018 and January 2023, before the trial began late last month, the prosecutor's office said.

The jury found Kuo guilty of the following charges:

• Two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault.
• First-degree endangering the welfare of a child via manufacture of child sexual abuse materials.
• First-degree kidnapping.
• Three counts of second-degree sexual assault.
• Second-degree endangering via manufacture of child sexual abuse materials.
• Third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact.
• Third-degree endangering via possession of child sexual abuse materials.
• Third-degree endangering via engaging in sexual conduct.
• Third-degree obscenity.
• Fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.
• Fourth-degree conspiracy to commit evidence tampering.

The case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Ryan Lavender and Kristen Anastos.

In another case involving Kuo, he was one of 16 people indicted in a credit card fraud operation.

In late January 2019, after a two-year operation focusing on eradicating fraud and identity theft, 16 individuals - including Kuo - were charged in “Operation Plastic Army,” the prosecutor's office said.

The operation, running from November 2017 to January 2019, resulted in the dismantling of a crime enterprise that defrauded more than a dozen financial institutions, the office said.

Among those arrested in the sweep was Kuo, also known as “Victor Lee” or “Young Sheng Tang.” He was charged with 15 counts, including conspiracy, theft by deception, insurance fraud and forgery, the prosecutor office said at the time.