A jury trial began Monday in 6th Judicial District Court for a Durango man suspected of sexually assaulting a child over a three-year time period.
It is the third jury trial to be held for Brandon Durrschmidt, 40. A judge declared a mistrial in April after a witness shared an opinion with jurors that was considered inadmissible, and a second trial ended in a hung jury after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision in October.
Durrschmidt is accused of sexually assaulting the child from April 6, 2016, through Jan. 28, 2019, in the Animas Valley north of Durango, according to court records. The child was under the age of 10 at the time of the alleged abuse.
The weeklong trial is expected to be a repeat of the October trial.
In that trial, prosecutors called investigators, expert witnesses in child sexual assault and the child’s mother to testify. The alleged victim also took the witness stand.
Durrschmidt, who has pleaded not guilty, did not take the witness stand in his own defense.
The case involves two close families that had a falling out with each other. After the falling out, the child reported Durrschmidt had touched her inappropriately – “too many times to count.”
Public defense lawyer Justin Bogan said the accusations were fabricated and planted into the child’s head as a means of retribution against Durrschmidt and his girlfriend.
Bogan said the case lacks physical evidence, trace evidence and corroborating evidence.
The child’s behavior during the years of the alleged assaults in no way resembles that of a sex assault victim, he told jurors during the first trial.
Prosecutors said the child had no reason to make up such allegations, and she gave consistent statements to investigators and jurors during the first trial. They asked jurors to consider the child’s credibility during video recorded interviews with forensic investigators, in which the child breaks down crying while recounting instances of abuse.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Sean Murray and deputy district attorneys Justin Howard Pierce and Brad Neagos.
Public defenders Bogan and Kellan Schmelz are representing Durrschmidt.
The case is being tried in front of District Court Judge Suzanne Carlson.
shane@durangoherald.com
An earlier version of this story erred in saying this is the second trial to be held for Brandon Durrschmidt. It is the third trial.
