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New York

Man's sex abuse acquittal shows challenges for prosecutors

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office in Riverhead, N.Y., shows foster parent Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu. An attorney for the foster parent accused of sexually abusing his foster sons over two decades said Friday, April 21, 2017, that no forensic, medical or physical evidence suggests his client committed the abuse.(Suffolk County District Attorney's Office via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office in Riverhead, N.Y., shows foster parent Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu. The acquittal of the New York foster father charged with sexually abusing boys in his care on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, shows the challenges prosecutors face in proving abuse allegations. (Suffolk County District Attorney's Office via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office in Riverhead, N.Y., shows foster parent Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu. The acquittal of the New York foster father charged with sexually abusing boys in his care on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, shows the challenges prosecutors face in proving abuse allegations. (Suffolk County District Attorney's Office via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

NEW YORK – The acquittal of a New York foster father charged with sexually abusing boys in his care shows the challenges prosecutors face in proving abuse allegations.

Six young men testified Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu (gahn-ZAH'-leyz moo-gah-BOO'-roo) sexually abused them in his Long Island home. But that wasn't enough to persuade jurors to convict him of any of the charges against him. He walked out of court in Suffolk County on Tuesday a free man.

Prosecutors say they were "surprised with the verdict." The head of their child abuse bureau tells the Daily News the children "weren't believed" and it was "heartbreaking."

The jury foreman says he believed some of the accusers' testimony. But he told Newsday he voted not guilty on all counts because there were too many holes in the prosecution's case.