Tucson Dr. Dung Nguyen Verdict: Why Was He Acquitted? ARS 13-1406

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Why Was Dr. Dung Nguyen Found Not Guilty?

Tucson doctor Dr. Dung Nguyen was found not guilty on all 31 counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse by a Pima County jury on November 10, 2026. The charges involved 19 accusers. He was defended by Michael Tamou and Kristie Ortega of Tamou Law Group, PLLC, with Michael Bloom of Michael J. Bloom Law Offices.

• Verdict: not guilty on every one of the 31 counts, returned by a Pima County jury on November 10, 2026, after a trial of roughly eight weeks.
• Charges: sexual assault under A.R.S. § 13-1406 and sexual abuse under § 13-1404, involving 19 former patients. Sexual assault carries no probation and mandatory consecutive sentences.
• Defense team: Michael Tamou and Kristie Ortega of Tamou Law Group, PLLC, with Michael Bloom of Michael J. Bloom Law Offices.
• Final result: the State cannot appeal a jury acquittal under § 13-4032, and the court vacated all release conditions.

Michael TamouTamou Law Group, PLLC

Kristie OrtegaTamou Law Group, PLLC

Michael BloomMichael J. Bloom Law Offices

What Happened in the Dr. Dung Nguyen Trial?

After a trial of roughly eight weeks, a Pima County jury returned its verdict at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10, 2026: Dr. Dung T. Nguyen was not guilty on every one of the 31 counts against him. The Tucson doctor had been accused by 19 former patients of sexual assault and sexual abuse during physical examinations, with some allegations reaching back nearly two decades. The judge then vacated all of his conditions of release, as reported by azFamily and KGUN 9.

The case drew heavy local coverage from the day police publicized the allegations. The defense argued that most accusers came forward only after that coverage, and how the accusations accumulated became one of the central questions the jury had to weigh.

What Was the Tucson Doctor Charged With?

The counts were sexual assault under A.R.S. § 13-1406 and sexual abuse under A.R.S. § 13-1404. Sexual assault requires intentionally or knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact without consent. Sexual abuse requires intentional or knowing sexual contact, meaning touching of the genitals, anus or female breast, with a person 15 or older without consent. The full text is on our A.R.S. 13-1406 statute page.

In a medical case the key word is consent. Under A.R.S. § 13-1401, “without consent” includes a person who is “intentionally deceived as to the nature of the act.” That was the State’s theory: that patients agreed to an examination and were deceived about what was actually happening. The defense answer is that a legitimate examination is exactly what it appears to be, and that the State must prove, count by count, both the improper contact and the deception beyond a reasonable doubt.

Why Was Dr. Nguyen Found Not Guilty?

Jurors do not explain verdicts, so no one can say exactly which arguments carried the day. What the public record shows is the defense the jury heard:

• No physical evidence. The State acknowledged the case rested on testimony rather than physical proof, so every count turned on the credibility of one account.
• Each count stands alone. Thirty-one counts are 31 separate charges. The burden never shifts to the defendant, and the defense held the State to its burden on each one.
• How the accusations surfaced. The defense showed the jury that many accounts came forward after police publicized the investigation and after media coverage, and raised the role of civil claims and financial incentives in bringing more accusers forward.
• Accounts that sounded the same. The prosecution called the similarity of the testimony too consistent to ignore. The defense asked the jury why people who said they did not know each other used the same words, and what that says about where those words came from.

Mr. Bloom told reporters after the verdict that the trial showed Dr. Nguyen to be “an absolutely wonderful doctor and a wonderful person.” For a deeper look at the legal path to an acquittal, see how sexual assault cases are won in Arizona.

Who Defended Dr. Dung Nguyen?

Dr. Nguyen was defended by trial attorneys Michael Tamou and Kristie Ortega of Tamou Law Group, PLLC, together with Michael Bloom of Michael J. Bloom Law Offices. After the verdict, Mr. Bloom described the case as an eight-week trial and one of the longest in Pima County history, according to azFamily.

Michael Tamou

Trial Attorney

Tamou Law Group, PLLC

Kristie Ortega

Trial Attorney

Tamou Law Group, PLLC

Michael Bloom

Trial Attorney

Michael J. Bloom Law Offices

Kristie Ortega spent a decade as a public defender before private practice, and Michael Tamou founded Tamou Law Group to try serious felony cases across Arizona. You can read more about both on our team page.

What Does Not Guilty on All Counts Mean in Arizona?

It is final. A.R.S. § 13-4032 lists the rulings the State may appeal, and a jury verdict of not guilty is not one of them; the only acquittal the State can appeal is a judgment entered by the judge after a guilty verdict. Double jeopardy bars a retrial on the same charges.

The release conditions are gone. Once a defendant is acquitted, nothing remains to secure, and the court vacated every condition that had restricted Dr. Nguyen while the case was pending.

Other proceedings are separate. A criminal verdict does not decide civil lawsuits, which use a lower standard of proof, or an Arizona Medical Board matter, which runs on its own process. A physician’s defense has to account for all three from the first day. Read more about what a criminal charge means for a professional license.

Doctor Accused of Sexual Assault in Arizona? What the Nguyen Verdict Teaches

Physicians, nurses, chiropractors, physical therapists and massage therapists are uniquely exposed to sexual-misconduct accusations, because their work requires touching patients in private. Three lessons from this verdict apply to any health care professional who is under investigation:

The number of accusers does not decide the case. Prosecutors present multiple accusers as proof of a pattern. Defense attorneys commonly see the opposite: accusers who learned of each other through news stories, social media or lawyers, and whose accounts converge over time. Arizona law sets no time limit on prosecuting class 2 sex offenses under A.R.S. § 13-107, so allegations can surface years after the visit, when memory is weakest and records are the only neutral witness.

The records are the defense. Electronic medical records, audit trails, scheduling data, chaperone logs, billing codes and staff testimony show what happened in the room. Preserve them before anything is deleted or overwritten.

Say nothing before you have a lawyer. Detectives in these cases often arrange a recorded confrontation call from the patient to the doctor before any arrest. A medical board inquiry or an employer interview can be used the same way. Politely decline and call counsel first.

How Tamou Law Group Defends Doctors Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Pre-charge advocacy. Most medical sex crime cases are investigated for months before charges are filed. We take over all contact with detectives and the board, send preservation demands for the EMR, audit logs and clinic video, and where the facts allow, present the medical explanation and the credibility problems before a charging decision is made.

Disclosure strategy. In a multi-accuser case we demand every recorded interview, every prior statement, every communication between accusers and with civil counsel, and every piece of media the accusers saw before reporting. Each count gets its own file, its own timeline and its own cross-examination.

Plea and collateral analysis. Sexual assault carries no probation and mandatory consecutive sentences, so every offer has to be weighed against the real trial risk, sex-offender registration, licensing and immigration consequences. When the evidence does not hold up, we try the case, as the Nguyen verdict shows. Learn more about our Arizona sex crime defense practice or call for a confidential consultation.