Burgos Case Dismissed, DA Won't Seek Retrial

Norm Burgos has received as much of an exoneration as he'll get on the two sex charges he faced from his former students. 

The case against the former Tam High tennis coach and teacher was dismissed with prejudice by Marin County Superior Court Judge Paul Haakenson Monday morning, ending a case that dated back more than a decade and in November.

"I take the judge's dismissal as a vindication of Norm," Burgos' defense attorney Douglas Horngrad said. "I see it as an affirmation of his innocence."

The parties held a hearing Monday so that the Marin County District Attorney's office could announce whether or not it intended to retry the case. After a , the case was declared a mistrial Nov. 17 as the result of a hung jury on both counts.

Burgos, 46, faced charges in connection to two Tam students but prosecutor Lori Frugoli sought to connect those charges to the uncharged allegations of three other students. in his own defense.

The 12-member jury decided after just two days that it had no chance of reaching the requisite unanimous decision on either count.

The first count, of lewd and lascivious conduct, related to an alleged body fat test performed in 2001 on a Tam student who claimed Burgos touched his genitals. The jury voted 8-4 in favor of acquittal on that charge.

The second charge, of sexual battery by unlawful restraint, stemmed from one of Burgos' former tennis protégés' claims that Burgos touched his genitals while giving him sports massages at Tam. The jury reversed itself and voted 8-4 in favor of guilt on the charge of sexual battery.

Burgos faced up to six years in prison if he had been convicted of both crimes.

Prosecutor Lori Frugoli said her office made the decision not to pursue the case further "after consulting with the victims and the jury."

Haakenson's decision to dismiss the case with prejudice as opposed to just dismissing it makes it "extremely difficult" for the prosecution to revive the case at a later date, Frugoli said.