KINGMAN – A former Mohave County Sheriff’s deputy has been acquitted at his sex offense trial in Kingman. The Superior Court trial jury deliberated for less than an hour Thursday, Dec. 7 before finding Andrew Sundberg, 24, not guilty of sexual abuse and sexual conduct with a minor.
“After almost two and a half years of having my character and named judged in the court of public opinion, I am relieved and excited that I was exonerted by a jury of my peers,” Sundberg said, in a statement released by his attorney Virginia Crews.
“At the moment the biggest emotion is elation, happiness that the criminal portion of this is over with,” Crews said, noting innocence was Sundberg’s defense. “It was always that even if a crime occurred, it was not my client that committed the crime.”
While acquittal brings freedom and great relief for Sundberg, Crews said he will always bear the scar of community scorn and residual doubt, abandonment by law enforcement peers, loss of employment and plenty of other stress and trauma endured by his family.
“He and his wife lost their foster child license. The children that were in their home at the time of this incident were removed,” Crews said. She noted a simple google or social media sampling might reflect Sundberg’s acquittal but the stain of allegation and community buy-in will always be there.
“I hope that this would serve as a good reminder to everyone to not to rush to judgment,’’ Crews said. “That’s not just some catch phrase that you’re innocent until proven guilty. I just wish that the general public would really think about what those Constitutional guarantees and rights mean for everyone.”
