Concord Teacher Acquitted of Molestation Charges

A Concord elementary school teacher was acquitted Thursday of molestation charges involving three former students and a Contra Costa County Superior Court jury deadlocked on counts involving nearly a dozen others.

Joseph Martin, 46, a longtime teacher at Concord's Woodside Elementary School, was arrested in the spring of 2013 following a parent's report that he had inappropriately touched her son.

Prosecutors eventually charged Martin with molesting 14 of his former students.

The jury read the verdict in a Martinez courtroom this afternoon, finding Martin not guilty of charges involving three students and deadlocking on charges involving 11 others.

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