Man not guilty of stalking girl; guilty of disturbing the peace
Superior Court associate judge Perry B. Inos yesterday found a man not guilty of stalking a female minor, but convicted him of disturbing her peace.
After a two-day bench trial, Inos handed down a not-guilty verdict in the case of Duansheng Hong, also known as Peter Hong, on three counts of stalking in the second degree.
Inos, however, convicted Hong of four counts of disturbing the peace.
In acquitting Hong of the stalking charges, the judge said the prosecution failed to prove that the girl was in fear of death or physical harm, which are the elements of the statute.
Hong’s sentencing will be on Aug. 18, 2011, at 1:30pm.
Hong’s lawyer, Joseph Norita Camacho, told reporters after the hearing that they are now preparing for the sentencing hearing.
At the trial, Camacho had argued that the text messages the girl received came from someone else and not from Hong.
He said the government obtained 200 pages of phone records containing text messages from an anonymous person but the records were never presented during the trial.
Assistant attorney general Peter Prestley said he is happy with Hong’s conviction but is disappointed with the court’s decision on the stalking charges. However, Prestley said, he respects the court’s decision and commends the girl and her family for coming forward and speaking out.
According to a police report, a couple went to the police on Sept. 14, 2010, to file a disturbing the peace complaint against Hong. The couple alleged that Hong has been stalking their daughter and her boyfriend.
