LOS ANGELES — A mistrial was declared Monday in the case of a 52-year-old Glendale man accused of molesting his two nieces.
Eleven jurors voted that there was no corroborating evidence to proceed with charges against Donald Allen. One juror believed Allen had molested his 14-year-old and 16-year-old nieces.
“The gut instinct of the jurors was mostly not guilty on the first vote because there was too many inconsistencies,” jury forewoman Marcia Burnett said at the Los Angeles Superior Court.
On a separate count, seven jurors did not believe substantial sexual conduct, such as oral copulation, had occurred.“The people that dug their heels in dug their heels in, and they were not going to change their mind,” Burnett said.
“They were passionate about it.”
The 11 jurors, she said, contended the girls’ testimony was “filled with holes.”
Deputy Dist. Atty. Philip Wojdak said he will consider filing a motion for another trial.
“In these old cases, memories fade,” Wojdak said. “It’s really sad.”
Judge Anne Egerton denied the motion to dismiss the charges against Allen, but Egerton did have Allen’s bail reduced from $1 million to $200,000.
The potential for a retrial will be discussed Aug. 15, but Egerton told Wojdak to consider what the victims and Allen’s family had to endure during the case.
“This was the trial; this was the opportunity,” said Dana Cole, Allen’s attorney.
Cole added that he hopes the case will be resolved soon.
“We came very, very close, and I am sorry for Mr. Allen’s family that we aren’t able to complete the task at this stage,” he said.
The jurors, who began deliberating Friday, voted four or five times, and each time the result showed most jurors believed Allen wasn’t guilty of molesting his nieces, Burnett said.
The juror who contended Allen was guilty “just believed the girls,” Burnett said.
Allen was accused of 12 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14.
The prosecution didn’t present enough evidence to prove Allen committed sexual abuse on the girls, Burnett said.
“The prosecutor just didn’t do it,” she said.
“The prosecution didn’t bring anyone else.”
The girls and an expert witness on the behaviors of sexual abuse victims testified for the prosecution.
Burnett said the expert witness had not even reviewed the girls’ case.
