Osvaldo Esparza Orozco was facing three possible life sentences but walked away a free man late Thursday night after a Kingfisher County jury acquitted the 36-year-old on three counts of child sexual abuse.

After 16 and a half hours of trial testimony the eight-man, four-woman jury deliberated for nearly eight hours before returning a verdict of not guilty on all counts.

Orozco was charged Nov. 29, 2017, with allegedly sexually abusing a then 12-year-old girl on multiple occasions, including on a car ride from her home to a Kingfisher convenience store that happened the day before she reported the alleged abuse to her mother.

Testifying in Spanish with the aid of an interpreter, Orozco told the jury Thursday morning that he had driven the girl to the convenience store to get snacks to take to school the next day but denied any inappropriate contact with her.

He also denied ever being alone with the girl in her bedroom, where she said another incident had occurred.

Orozco was arrested shortly before charges were filed and has been free on $75,000 bond since Dec. 21, 2017, after District Judge Paul Woodward reduced the amount from $100,000 in response to a motion argued by defense attorney Jeff Crites.

Four of Orozco’s family members also testified on his behalf, some with the aid of an interpreter and some of whom lived in the same household as Orozco and the victim.

Witnesses called by prosecutors John Salmon of Kingfisher County and Michael Oglesby of Canadian County included the victim’s mother, Kingfisher County Sheriff Dennis Banther and Deputy David Smith, investigating officer, in addition to the victim, who is now 15.

Prosecutors also played a video of the victim’s forensic interview the day after she reported the alleged abuse.

In addition to Orozco and his family members, Crites also called an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation representative who testified about a lab report prepared by his agency which showed no semen present on any of the clothing samples or swabs from Orozco’s vehicle, which were collected and submitted by the sheriff’s office.

Crites argued in his closing statement that Orozco and the alleged victim were the only eyewitnesses to what happened during the trip to the convenience store and “the fact that no seminal fluid was found supports his story that nothing happened.”

He also said after the DNA report came back in March 2018, the sheriff’s office gathered no more evidence to support its case, including failing to talk to two of the alleged victim’s classmates, to whom she said she disclosed the incidents before telling her mother.

Crites also pointed out what he said were major inconsistencies between the girl’s description of the alleged incidents at age 12 on the video interview and what she said last week on the witness stand.

“The state wants you to let raw emotions come out and who cares about whether the evidence supports it,” he said. “They are asking you not to care about reliability, credibility and evidence.”

Crites also said that the fact that his client, who is a Mexican citizen, returned from a trip to Mexico when he was arrested and appeared in court to face the charges, was further evidence of his innocence.

“He hasn’t ran. He came here today. He came to testify,” Crites said.

In response, Salmon said in his closing argument that Crites “wants you to not just declare his client not guilty, but throw him a parade because he did not run back to Mexico and did not molest other children.”

Salmon ran through a numbered laundry list of what he said were “undisputed facts” that support the victim’s allegations.

He also said the lack of other witnesses and the fact that other family members described Orozco’s relationship with the alleged victim as “normal and appropriate” did not mean the abuse didn’t happen.

“Why there are no other witnesses is because people don’t molest children unless they think they can get away with it,” Salmon said. “He was not going to do it in front of other people.”

Jurors began deliberating at 12:45 p.m. Thursday.

During the hours long process, they sent messages out to the judge, one asking to watch the videotaped interview again and another asking a question about other evidence.

At 5:20 p.m., the jury sent out a third message that they were at an impasse and could not agree on a verdict. Woodward brought them back into the courtroom and encouraged them to continue deliberating.

At 7:55 p.m., the jury came back with not guilty verdicts on all counts.

At the state’s request, the jurors were polled individually as to whether they agreed to the verdict and each answered yes.

“My client is very pleased with the verdict,” Crites said in an email to the Times & Free Press Friday morning. “ I am pleased that this case has resolved and that all parties can now have some closure as far as the judicial system can provide and move on.”

He said he had not spoken to any jurors and could not say what led to the verdict, but added: “As the attorney for Mr. Orozco I thought the inconsistent statements of the alleged victim caused major credibility issues.”

The district attorney’s office had not responded to a request for comment by press time Friday afternoon.