In Monserrate Teron’s second trial in six weeks, a jury of four men and two women today found the former Army nurse guilty of raping and molesting his 7-year-old niece at his Palm Coast home in November 2019. The jury deliberated three hours, its decision finally, clearly clinched by the testimony of the child, now 11, whom Teron had victimized for years.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Prosecution Lets Glaring Falsehood, Key to Defense’s Arguments, Go Unchallenged as Rape Trial Goes to Jury
The prosecution and defense delivered their closing arguments in Monserrate Teron’s second trial in six weeks on charges he raped his 7-year-old niece in Palm Coast in 2019. The prosecution never challenged a key but medically false claim at the center of Teron’s defense: that since he suffered from erectile dysfunction, he could not have orgasmed as he was abusing his niece.
At African American Society, ‘Summer of 1969’ Exhibit Kicks Off Festival of Cultural Events
The art exhibit at Palm Coast’s African American Cultural Society, opening Saturday, and its numerous related programs, centers on “Summer of Soul,” the 2021 documentary film about the nearly forgotten Harlem Cultural Festival colloquially known as the “Black Woodstock.”
Palm Coast Man, 43, Is Killed in Rear-End Crash with Stopped Semi on I-95
A 43-year-old Palm Coast man lost his life Wednesday night in a rear-end crash as traffic was stalled on I-95 near the Old Dixie Highway interchange.
Defense’s Strategy in Teron’s Second Trial on Charges of Raping His Niece: Indict the Accusers
The defense’s strategy in Monserrate Teron’s trial on charges that he raped his 7-year-old niece has been on blunt display for the past two days in a Bunnell courtroom: indict the accuser. Indict her family. Indict her forensic interviewer. Indict the investigator. Make them look uninvolved, clueless, incompetent, prejudiced. Question them as if they are on trial, not Teron.
Flagler County Uses False Information as It Asks Cities to Support Increase in Sales Tax
Flagler County government is disseminating false information about the proportion of the local sales tax paid by visitors as it seeks letters of support from Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach to increase the county’s sales tax by half a percent.
School Board Approves Funding for Flagler Youth Orchestra, Legal Opinion ‘Comfortable’ with Arrangement
The Flagler County School Board approved its annual funding of the Flagler Youth Orchestra Strings Program. Now it needs to find a new program director as well as a new artistic director and two more music instructors/conductors.
AdventHealth Prepares to Open Palm Coast Parkway Hospital, Doubling ER and Patient Capacity
The 158,000-sqaure-foot facility, which cost $167 million, includes 100 inpatient beds, which will double the inpatient capacity for Flagler County when added to AdventHealth Palm Coast, the hospital that recently marked its 20th anniversary at its campus on S.R. 100 just west of I-95.
Palm Coast Franchise Fee Killed Again as FPL Balks at Referendum; City Must Cut Budget $2.8 Million
The Palm Coast City Council is set to abandon the unpopular franchise fee it proposed adding to electric bills only last week. City Council member Theresa Pontieri said today she will withdraw the motion that she’d made on July 18. The reason, according to the city manager: Florida Power and Light won’t accept the city’s terms.
Waste Pro and Palm Coast Drop All Claims Against Each Other in Bingate Settlement
Waste Pro and Palm Coast signed an agreement that will have Palm Coast release $153,150 owed Waste Pro. The city will also void the $66,350 fines the company had accrued. Neither side admits wrong-doing. Neither side will sue.
