Bloomfield karate instructor acquitted on charges of sexually abusing a minor
The owner of a Bloomfield karate dojo was acquitted Friday on multiple counts of alleged sexual abuse against a former student, according to prosecutors and a court administrator.
Jurors found Edilberto Torres, 60, not guilty of sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, charges he faced after an 11-year-old student claimed in 2019 that he rubbed her genitalia and groped her breasts over her clothes during lessons at Kokusai Karate Dojo.
"We are very pleased with the verdict and that Mr. Torres can move on from this case," said Brett Rosen, Torres' trial attorney.
On Thursday, an employee of Kokusai declined to comment on whether Torres was still associated with the dojo. In an emailed statement, Rosen said he anticipates his client will return to his work there now that the trial has concluded in his favor.
In the official complaint filed against Torres, the student claimed he touched her on multiple occasions between April and June 2019 before she reported the alleged abuse to Bloomfield police.
That July, as Torres appeared in court to argue for his release pending trial, a legion of students from Kokusai, along with friends and family, amassed inside the courtroom and hallway, holding a banner that read "Justice for Eddie."
"They're all in support of Torres," said Mekhail Sarofiem, the attorney who represented Torres at his detention hearing.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bloomfield karate instructor acquitted of sexually abusing minor
