In a 15-minute opening statement on Monday, Jan. 12, public defender Kenneth Pace told a jury of 14 that his client, Andrew Allmon, 55, of Cortez was not guilty of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl in the summer of 2013. He claimed family conflicts left the alleged victim and her sisters neglected, and the children fabricated the allegations for attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren sometimes lie,\u201d Pace told jurors.<\/p>\n
Pace asked jurors to examine the accusations in their full context, and further encouraged them not to prejudge his client, who authorities have labeled a \u201cpredator, pedophile and sex offender\u201d since a 2008 false imprisonment conviction in New Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are red flags everywhere,\u201d Pace told jurors. \u201cLook at all the red flags.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Allmon\u2019s actions were not deviant,\u201d Pace said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t prey on the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
In custody since his arrest, Allmon has appeared in court this week dressed in plain clothes.<\/p>\n
In his 10-minute opening statement to jurors on Monday, Assistant District Attorney Sean Murray said the defendant was guilty. Allmon is accused of nine counts of child sexual assault and four drug charges.<\/p>\n
Using a slideshow presentation, Murray explained that a family with three daughters experiencing hard economic times was invited to live in Allmon\u2019s home on North State Street in April 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Allmon developed close relationships with the girls,\u201d said Murray.<\/p>\n
Murray said testimony from the only eyewitness, the alleged victim\u2019s older sister, would reveal that the defendant molested the girl while watching cartoons together on his bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis hands were inside the girl\u2019s pants,\u201d said Murray.<\/p>\n
Murray added that the victims from the defendant\u2019s 2008 New Mexico conviction would also testify at trial this week to bolster the prosecution\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are the clue finders that will discern what happened,\u201d Murray told jurors.<\/p>\n
Witness testimony<\/p>\n
The first witness to testify at Allmon\u2019s trial was the mother of the alleged victim. On the stand for more than two hours, the woman\u2019s hand shook uncontrollably when she was sworn under oath.<\/p>\n
On direct examination by District Attorney Will Furse, the mother testified that the defendant inappropriately touched her then 8-year-old daughter in a sexual manner on June 17, 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Allmon) had a look of guilt all over him like he knew he had been caught,\u201d the mother testified.<\/p>\n
To protect the alleged victim\u2019s identity, The Cortez Journal opted not to publicize the mother\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
The mother explained that she, her husband and three daughters, now 17, 15 and 10, moved into Allmon\u2019s home after the family experienced tough economic times<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was good to the family,\u201d said the mother regarding Allmon. \u201cWe trusted him.\u201d<\/p>\n
After learning from her middle child that Allmon was \u201cmessing\u201d with her youngest daughter, the mother said she was shocked.<\/p>\n
On cross-examination, the mother said that the alleged victim initially denied the allegations, adding she was never alarmed by any change in the child\u2019s demeanor or behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a happy kid,\u201d the mother testified.<\/p>\n
After learning of Allmon\u2019s 2008 sex offender conviction, the mother further testified that the family decided to remain at the suspect\u2019s home. She also said the family never called 911 to report the incident.<\/p>\n
The defense also attacked the mother\u2019s credibility as she admitted that she once made false accusations against her husband.<\/p>\n
Also testifying on Monday was the now 10-year-old alleged victim. With her hair in a ponytail, she showed little emotion from the witness stand when describing the alleged sexual abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was touching me in my bad spot,\u201d the girl testified.<\/p>\n
On cross-examination, the girl admitted she would sometimes lie in order avoid getting in trouble with her parents. The girl further stated that she had practiced her testimony with her parents and prosecutors, saying the repetition made it easier to remember.<\/p>\n
The middle child \u2013 the only eyewitness to the alleged crimes \u2013 also testified on Monday. She stated that she discovered Allmon, whom she sometimes referred to as \u201cUncle Andy,\u201d on top of her younger sister on the day in question.<\/p>\n
\u201cI seen Andy\u2019s hand with my little sister\u2019s hand in his pants,\u201d the girl said on direct-examination.<\/p>\n
At times appearing disinterested in the proceedings, the girl later admitted on cross-examination that she too once lied to authorities about a plot by her father to kill her mother. Charges remain pending against the father, the girl confirmed.<\/p>\n
Citing she had tried to erase the incident from her memory, the eyewitness further revealed that she didn\u2019t \u201cexactly remember\u201d what she saw on the day in question. She also admitted that her trial testimony was different from what she initially told a social worker the day after the alleged crimes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ready for this to be over,\u201d she testified.<\/p>\n
Mistrial requested<\/p>\n
Mostly from defense attorneys, more than three dozen objections were raised during proceedings on Monday. Public defender Amy R. Smith made multiple objections over claims that prosecutors were \u201creading grand jury testimony into evidence.\u201d She subsequently requested a mistrial after Chief District Court Judge Doug Walker admonished her in front of the jury.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe courts displeasure with the defense are the repeated objections,\u201d said Walker. \u201cThe motion for a mistrial is denied.\u201d<\/p>\n