Defendant In Colts Neck Sex Charges Urinates In Court, Gets Mistrial

FREEHOLD, NJ — A former youth tennis instructor in Colts Neck, on trial for various sexual crimes involving minors, urinated in the courtroom of the judge presiding over the case during jury selection, triggering a mistrial.

Terry Y. Kuo was in court before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley when the incident happened Feb. 8, the Asbury Park Press reported Wednesday. The Press also obtained audio of the jury selection session:

“Let the record reflect that the defendant just urinated in the middle of my courtroom. He did it in front of the jury,’’ Judge Oxley says on the audio after the jurors were cleared from the courtroom, according to the report. “Clearly, this is a first for this judge, certainly the first reported case that I’m aware of."

Kuo's attorney, Alan Zegas of Millburn, confirmed the urination incident to Patch on Wednesday.

Kuo, he said, "insisted he had to go," Zegas said. "He said it aloud."

He said his client was ordered to have both a physical and psychological evaluation at the state Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton. Zegas said Oxley said he is reserving judgment on any contempt charges, pending results of the examination.

Zegas said a status conference on the case is scheduled for March 6, and jury selection - before a new pool of jurors - may resume as soon as two weeks after that.

Kuo, 31, of Neptune, has been in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold, pending trial on a 47-count indictment, Zegas said. He added he has been in the jail for nearly five years.

Kuo was indicted on various crimes involving sexual assault of minors, according to information from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office in January of 2019.

He is also charged in a separate indictment in a credit card fraud operation.

A Monmouth County Grand Jury returned the 47-count indictment against Kuo with varying charges including kidnapping, sexual assault and other misconduct involving a student and other local children, the prosecutor's office said at the time.

Kuo, also known as “Victor Lee,” was charged in a superceding indictment with three counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, one count of second-degree attempted aggravated sexual assault, six counts of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of second-degree attempted sexual assault, four counts of first-degree causing or permitting a child to engage in child pornography, four counts of second-degree manufacturing child pornography, five counts of third-degree possession of child pornography, two counts of fourth-degree lewdness, three counts of third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, eight counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, one count of fourth-degree stalking, three counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of third-degree obscenity and one count of fourth-degree conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, according to the prosecutor's office in a news release from January 2019.

The charges stem from an investigation began after one of Kuo’s 13-year-old tennis students alleged various instances of sexual misconduct at Kuo’s hands during the summer and fall of 2017, the prosecutor's office said.

A subsequent investigation conducted by the Marlboro Police Department, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victim’s Bureau and Computer Crimes Unit revealed child pornography on the defendant’s electronic devices as well as improper conduct with additional juveniles, the prosecutor's office said.

A Monmouth County Grand Jury had previously returned an indictment against Kuo in February of 2018. This superceding indictment, filed on Dec. 21 of 2018, charged Kuo with additional crimes committed during an extended time period, the prosecutor's office said.

Also in late January 2019, after a two-year operation focusing on eradicating fraud and identity theft, 16 individuals - including Kuo - were charged in “Operation Plastic Army,” the prosecutor's office said.

The operation, running from November 2017 to January 2019, resulted in the dismantling of a crime enterprise that defrauded more than a dozen financial institutions, the office said.

Among those arrested in the sweep was Kuo, again also known as “Victor Lee” or “Young Sheng Tang.” He was charged with 15 counts, including conspiracy, theft by deception, insurance fraud and forgery, the prosecutor office said at the time.

Zegas confirmed those charges are still pending against Kuo. He said he is represented by a public defender in that matter.