Contra Costa DA To Re-Try Concord Teacher Accused Of Molestation

A former Concord schoolteacher who was acquitted of 21 charges of child molestation and nearly acquitted of 95 other charges will be re-tried, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has announced.

Joseph Martin, 46, of Martinez, will again go to trial on charges that he molested multiple former students at Concord’s Woodside Elementary School, prosecutors said.

The decision to re-try him comes two months after a jury hung over most of the charges against Martin, acquitting him of 21 charges and tilting heavily toward acquittal on 95 additional charges.

[Previous: Update From Martinez Court on Concord Teacher’s Acquittal of Some Charges; Jury Hung on Others.]

The jury voted 9-3 to acquit Martin of charges related to 10 victims and 11-1 to acquit him of charges related to the 11th victim.

However, Deputy District Attorney Derek Butts said, “The numbers don’t in and of themselves tell the story.”

Butts declined to say whether Martin would be retried on all 95 remaining counts.

[Previous: Martinez Court: Students, Parents Testify In Concord Teacher’s Molestation Trial.]

He said his discussions with several of the jurors and support from the victims’ parents factored into the decision to re-try the defendant.

Martin was initially charged with 150 counts of inappropriately touching male students, including numerous allegations that he fondled their chests underneath their shirts.

The jury heard testimony from the purported victims, most who are now in high school and recalled how the defendant would inappropriately touch them and tell them he loved them both inside and outside of his Woodside Elementary classroom.

Martin’s attorney, Patrick Clancy, has said the accusations were a result of “mass hysteria” fueled by baseless rumors and that his client was a dedicated teacher who cared about his students’ success.

Clancy called the decision to re-try his client “very unfair” and said the process is “extremely expensive and hard on his family.”

Martin, a married father of two, remains in county jail on $10 million bail. His attorney added that he had never seen a case re-tried after a jury leaned so heavily toward acquittal.

Nonetheless, Clancy said he and his client are ready to go back into the courtroom.

“I seriously doubt there will be many counts or accusers left on the day of trial,” he said.

The new trial is set for Nov. 3 or within 10 days of that date and is expected to last six to 10 weeks, according to Butts.

--Bay City News

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