The lengthy, two-part trial for a former San Ramon Valley teacher and cheer coach finally concluded this week, with jurors announcing convictions on a set of aggravated circumstances that were introduced at the conclusion of the first phase of the trial.
Jurors found Wednesday that three out of four aggravated circumstances pursued by the prosecution against defendant Nicholas Moseby applied to the case – a particularly vulnerable victim, planning and sophistication by the perpetrator, and the exploitation of a position of trust.
“The victims have traveled a long road to justice,” Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said in a news release Wednesday. “This jury’s verdict opens a path toward healing from the trauma — not only for the victims, but for the broader community as well.”
The jury did not reach an agreement on whether the charges Moseby was found guilty of constituted an escalation from his previous legal record, which included providing alcohol to minors and soliciting a sex worker.
The jury’s findings on the aggravated circumstances marks the conclusion of what the DA’s office described as a bifurcated trial, with deliberations on the aggravating circumstances commencing after the jury reached guilty verdicts on five out of seven criminal charges on Oct. 17.
In the weeks-long first phase of the trial that was postponed multiple times before commencing on Sept. 15, Moseby was found guilty of one felony count of distributing pornography to a minor, one felony count of a lewd act upon a child, two misdemeanor counts of child molestation and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery.
Moseby, 41, of Concord, was found not guilty on one count of a lewd act on a child under the age of 14, and the jury could not reach a verdict on another felony count of a lewd act upon a child.
The aggravated circumstances that the jury found applicable could allow the judge to impose a harsher sentence. The sentencing hearing is set for Dec. 19.
