The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed all charges against Beaumont plastic surgeon Dr. Nir Binur following a second mistrial in the sexual assault case alleging the doctor violated a patient during a post-operative exam.
The decision came Dec. 4, shortly after jurors notified 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West that they were at “an impasse” and could not reach a unanimous verdict. It was the second time in less than a year that a jury deadlocked on the case; the first trial ended in a mistrial in February.
In announcing the dismissal, prosecutor Tommy Coleman acknowledged the weight of the decision while defending the integrity of the jury process.
“I have faith in the jury system even when it doesn’t go the way that we think it should go. Certainly, this is not the result that we wanted, but given the two previous hung juries it is indicated to us that we would, going forward, have significant impediments to meeting our burden of proof – so we made the difficult decision to dismiss the case,” Coleman said. “I have no doubt that the account that our victim has given us is the true account of what happened; however, convincing 12 members of our community that that is, in fact, what happened has proven to be difficult.”
Jurors began deliberations Wednesday afternoon, paused for the evening, and resumed Thursday morning before sending word they could not reach an agreement. West declared a mistrial Thursday afternoon. Defense attorney Ryan Gertz represented Binur, while Coleman represented the state.
Before deliberations began, two women — neither of whom was the complainant in the current case — testified about past encounters with Binur. The women, both former patients, testified that past encounters with Binur left them feeling uncomfortable or violated, though both acknowledged they continued returning to him for additional procedures in later years.
One woman said she contacted prosecutors after learning of the charges and described feeling violated during a prior treatment, while another recounted an exam in which she believed inappropriate contact occurred. Under cross-examination, both women confirmed they had sought further care from Binur despite their concerns.
Closing arguments suggested that any touch by Binur during the patient’s examination was part of the routine medical evaluation and that he did not penetrate the alleged victim’s sexual organ. Gertz then included a comedic clip from the well-known ’90s sitcom “Seinfeld” to explain the term penetration to the jury.
The allegations at the center of the now-dismissed criminal case accused Binur of digitally penetrating a patient during an exam without warning or consent. Prosecutors argued that Binur abused his position of trust as a physician. The defense maintained that any contact was part of legitimate medical care.
Much like the second, during the first trial in February, jurors sent multiple questions to the judge and reported they were hopelessly deadlocked before a mistrial was declared. Both mistrials occurred in West’s court.
Following the second hung jury, and the prosecutor’s determination that securing a conviction was unlikely, the state announced it will not seek a third trial.