A judge told a jury to continue deliberating in the case of a Palm Coast man accused of sexual battery and lewd molestation of a young girl who was visiting his home in Palm Coast.
Monserrate Teron, 59, whose residence was on Edwin Lane, was charged with one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12 years old by an offender 18 or older and two counts of sexual battery of a child under 12.
The jury began deliberating at 3:37 p.m. Thursday.
Shortly before 6 p.m. the jury sent a note to Circuit Judge Terence Perkins that they could not agree. The judge then had the 12-member jury – seven women and five men – return to the courtroom and instructed them to continue deliberating.
After the jury left the courtroom, a deputy escorted Teron to a holding area.
Teron faces life in prison on accusations he sexually abused the girl when she was visiting him in Palm Coast.
During her closing argument on Thursday, Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark recounted the child’s testimony that Teron had her perform oral sex on him and that he had touched her genital area.
Clark said the girl not only described the abuse during her testimony at trial but also previously during an interview with investigators.
“It was very graphic,” Clark said.
The girl, who was visiting from Massachusetts, was 7 years old at the time of the offenses.
Clark said Teron wants the jury to believe it was the girl who touched him and that he did not want her to. He claimed she was obsessed with touching his private parts. But Clark said if that was the case, why didn’t Teron tell the girl’s mother that the child needed to be reined in?
“Why wouldn’t he call attention to it so it would stop?” Clark asked.
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Clark also recalled testimony from two sisters who were also children about 35 years ago when they said Teron behaved improperly toward them.
In his closing, Teron’s defense attorney, Harley Brook, said that Teron was being accused of something he didn’t do.
He also emphasized to the jury that they could only convict him of something between the time in the charging document which was Nov. 10 and Nov. 16, 2019, in Flagler County. They could not convict him because of anything someone said happened elsewhere.
Brook said there were inconsistencies in the young girl’s account and when asked about some things, she said she couldn’t remember.
“My client sits here before you and denies these allegations,” Brook said.
He said when the girl testified, he asked her if the door was open or closed to the bedroom when she was in there with Teron. She said she couldn’t remember.
But Brook said Teron and his wife both said that the door to the bedroom was open. And Teron’s wife said she had a clear view through the door. She said her husband was sitting at the edge of the bed having a normal conversation with the girl.
Clark in her rebuttal said that jurors could evaluate the credibility of witnesses, including what was at stake for them. She said both Teron and his wife had a stake in the outcome of the case.