VIDEOS: Little Rock dentist found not guilty of sexual assault

5:17 P.M. UPDATE:

Speaking to reporters after his acquittal, Dr. Jose Turcios said he believes the police "did not do their job" in investigating the accusation of sexual assault made by a teenage patient.

"I'm glad justice was done, but I'm still very angry at what happened to me because this shouldn't have gone this far," the Little Rock dentist said, with his wife and Healthy Smiles employees by his side outside Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen's courtroom.

Those supporting Turcios cheered a number of times outside of the courtroom after the not-guilty verdict, at times in tears.

Turcios said he plans to return to work Monday, adding that has a number of appointments lined up and that business should be "the same or better."

"Our patients ... were always there. They never for one second believed any of this," he said. "Like I've said before, the day after I got arrested ... we went back to work because we had a full schedule. The patients showed up."

Pulaski County chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson said the court system played out the way it is designed to do, adding that "the jury heard all the facts."

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

4:06 P.M. UPDATE:

After about two hours of deliberation, a jury has found Little Rock dentist Dr. Jose Turcios not guilty of sexual assault involving a teen patient.

Both sides finished closing arguments by about 1:50 p.m. Friday in the three-day trial, signaling the start of deliberation from the jury of 12: six men and six women.

Turcios was accused of molesting the then 15-year-old female patient in March 2015 at his dentist office, Healthy Smiles in Little Rock.

He faced a felony charge of second-degree sexual assault, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.

Check back with ArkansasOnline for updates and read Saturday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

1:50 P.M. UPDATE:

Closing arguments were made Friday in the trial of Little Rock dentist Dr. Jose Turcios, who was charged with molesting a teenage patient sedated under nitrous oxide during a March 2015 appointment.

The prosecution described the allegations that Turcios groped and kissed the girl as a "crime of opportunity" created by the dentist on five occasions when dental assistants left Turcios alone with the girl, the longest of which lasted a minute and 29 seconds.

But evidence from security footage and testimony discredit the girl's statements that she was alone with Turcios while under nitrous oxide, argued defense attorney Bill James.

The girl's account should not be believed, James said, because it escalated as she publicly complained to family and on social media about the pain caused by her braces.

"Somebody said it, so it's got to be true; that's the attitude of police," James said.

The jury was sent to deliberate shortly before 2 p.m.

Check back for updates and read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

12:05 P.M. UPDATE:

An expert anesthesiologist at the University of Missouri testified Friday during the trial of a Little Rock dentist charged with molesting a teenage patient, saying the nitrous oxide gas used during the appointment could have affected the girl's memory.

Dr. Steven Fogel, who was paid $400 per hour to be an expert defense witness during the three-day long trial, said nitrous oxide gas has been known to cause hallucinations and also to alter patients' perception of real events. The effects of the gas begin to wear off after five minutes, and patients are usually fully awake after 10 minutes, he said.

"More likely than not, [the teen] does not have an accurate memory of the events as they occur," Fogel said.

According to testimony by those present during the 15-year-old's March 2015 appointment, she received nitrous oxide during the first hour of her visit but was off the gas during the second hour, during which time she said Dr. Jose Turcios groped and kissed her while they were alone in the room together.

After hearing testimony from two more defense character witnesses, the defense rested its case shortly after noon.

Closing arguments were scheduled to begin after a short break.

Check back for updates and read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

EARLIER:

The third day of the trial of a Little Rock dentist accused of sexually assaulting a teen patient began with testimony from the man's wife and two dental assistants, who all said they trusted Dr. Jose Turcios.

The prosecution rested its case after Thursday's testimony from the teenage girl, who said Turcios kissed and groped her while she was on nitrous oxide during a March 2015 appointment.

Turcios' attorney, Bill James, then called Susan Kerr, a dental assistant who worked with Turcios in 2009 when he was accused by another assistant of inappropriate touching.

Kerr said her colleague never approached her with complaints about Turcios, testifying that she would have told a supervisor if she had heard such accusations.

Alyssa Smith, the assistant working with Turcios during his appointment with the 15-year-old, testified that she left the room several times during the session to get equipment. But she said she never left the patient alone while she was on nitrous oxide.

Turcios' wife and partner at his Healthy Smiles Practice, Dr. Patricia Zarruk, described moving to America with Turcios during their 17-year marriage and building the couple's practice in Arkansas.

Check back for updates and read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.