FREEHOLD – The Colts Neck youth tennis instructor who was found guilty of sexually assaulting and taking pornographic photos of a student when she was 12 and 13 years old was sentenced Friday to more than 50 years in prison.
Terry Kuo, 32, was sentenced by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Jill O’Malley to 55 years for the first-degree kidnapping charge – which is subject to the No Early Release Act, meaning he must serve 85 percent of his sentence before the chance of parole – five concurrent years on the obscenity charge and 18 consecutive months for conspiring to tamper with evidence. Kuo also faces numerous fines, must register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and a permanent restraining order will be filed under Nicole’s Law to prevent contact with the victim.
Kuo has already spent more than two thousand days – over six years – in jail since he was first arrested in 2017, which O’Malley said can be applied to his sentence.
When Kuo entered the courtroom on Friday, he immediately asked to speak to the judge on the record, proceeding to claim letters he sent to her were tampered with and that he was assaulted previously by police officers, resulting in a fractured skull and leaving him nearly blind.
O’Malley eventually cut him off to give Kuo’s attorney, Joshua Nahum, and Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Lavender a chance to give their sentence recommendations.
Nahum asked the judge to give Kuo the minimum sentence of 25 years in prison, stating that he would be a senior citizen upon release even with the minimum. Meanwhile, Lavender suggested 65 years, adding that was “probably not enough.”
The judge then asked Kuo if he had anything to say prior to her posting his sentence. Kuo began to rehash the entire trial, claiming there was too much inconsistency and too many discrepancies between his three trials – including two mistrials – and asserted his innocence.
“I will continue to fight this case regardless of anyone’s opinion,” he told the judge. “It’s not so much that I refuse to show any remorse…I guess to this day I still care about [the victim].”
When O’Malley read Kuo his sentence, she said his probation officer – whose family address Kuo found and sent a care package to – described him as calculating, manipulative and confrontational.
The judge said that he has an “unhealthy obsession” with women, and often young women.
“Nothing short of state prison will stop him,” O’Malley said.
Before the sentencing concluded, Kuo asked the judge what repercussions there would be if someone violated Nicole’s Law, the restraining order. O’Malley said another 18 months would be tacked on to the existing prison time.
Kuo made his intent to appeal explicitly clear, making his attorney bring him the documents to sign before he even left the jury box.
Jenna Calderón covers breaking news and cold cases in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Before coming to the Press, she covered The Queen City for Cincinnati Magazine in Ohio. Contact her at 330-590-3903; [email protected]