A Border Patrol agent was in Pima County Superior Court on Friday, accused of molesting his daughter. He now awaits a decision from the jury.
The 34-year-old man, who served two tours in Iraq with the Marines, is on suspension from the Border Patrol. He was charged with sexual conduct with a minor under 15 and molestation of a child in January 2010.
The child’s mother initially told school officials last January that she had seen her husband rubbing the child’s genitals on Christmas Day 2010, when the girl was 10.
The child told the authorities that she had also been forced to have oral sex with her father on a separate occasion, according to court records.
On the stand during the trial last week, the mother recanted her account and said she believed her daughter was lying.
No DNA or other physical evidence of abuse was found in the home where the alleged molestation took place.
The child’s mother was also molested when she was around 7 years old and may have jumped to conclusions about what she saw, said the Border Patrol agent’s defense attorney, Richard L. Lougee.
During the trial, Deputy Pima County Attorney Jesse Navarro told jurors that the mother had recanted only after Child Protective Services removed the daughter and her younger sister from the home, leaving the mother living alone with the father.
Jurors could not reach a unanimous decision by 5 p.m. on Friday. Deliberations will continue on Tuesday.
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