Former Tri-City Teacher Accused of Molestation Is 'Good Man' and Victim of Siblings' Revenge: Defense Attorney

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA – File photos of suspect Frank Joseph Montenegro Jr.

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A defense attorney told jurors Wednesday that a former Fremont elementary school teacher isn't guilty of the 13 felony counts he faces for allegedly molesting two young students nearly 20 years ago.

In his opening statement in the trial of Frank Montenegro, who's now 53, defense lawyer Todd Bequette said Montenegro "is a good man and an educator who cared about his school" and was only trying to help the two
students because they came from poor families.

Bequette said one of the alleged victims made "outlandish" claims that aren't supported by facts and the other initially told police that Montenegro hadn't molested him and only accused Montenegro of wrongdoing
after police put him under "intense pressure" to do so.

Montenegro was charged in 2001 with molesting the two students, who were between the ages 8 and 11, multiple times between 1998 and 2001 while he was an elementary school teacher with the Fremont Unified School District.

But Montenegro, who had worked for the district since 1988, fled the Bay Area for 14 years until FBI fugitive task force members found him and arrested him in the Los Angeles area on Aug. 15, 2015.

Wednesday was the beginning of Montenegro's second trial. His first trial began on Feb. 14. Prosecutor Amanda Chavez told jurors in her opening statement that when FBI agents handcuffed Montenegro "he refused to say one word."

In a hearing outside the presence of jurors, Bequette asked for a mistrial, saying that court rulings have established that prosecutors aren't allowed to comment to jurors about a defendant exercising his right against self-incrimination.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy then granted the motion for a mistrial, dismissed those jurors and began selection for a new jury panel the following day. The second jury selection process was completed on Tuesday.

Montenegro is charged with 13 felony counts, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, committing lewd acts upon a child and sodomy on a child.

Chavez told jurors Wednesday that she's confident that at the end of the trial they will find Montenegro guilty of all the charges against him.

But Bequette alleged that police only investigated Montenegro, who was the oldest of eight children in a poor family, after his younger siblings got mad at him after he reported to authorities that his younger brother had
molested his younger sister.

Bequette said Montenegro's younger brother's life spiraled downhill after that and he was murdered in a drug-related shooting and his younger siblings blamed Montenegro.

Bequette said Montenegro's sister told police that she had seen one of the alleged victims in Montenegro's bedroom, but Bequette said Montenegro was only helping the boy do his homework and was helping him out
because he was "civic-minded" and wanted to assist the boy because he came from a poor background.

The defense attorney said the second alleged victim made the "outlandish" allegation that Montenegro had raped him in front of his entire classroom but when police interviewed the other students they said no such
thing had happened.

One of the alleged victims, who's now 27, began testifying Wednesday.

Testimony in Montenegro's trial will continue today.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Mistrial Declared For Former Fremont Teacher Accused Of Molestation
• Fugitive Fremont Teacher Arrested For Alleged Child Molestation

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--Bay City News/Images via Northern California Regional Intelligence Center