Linn County sex abuse trial ends in second mistrial

CEDAR RAPIDS - A recent trial of an 18-year-old Walford man accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in 2013 has ended in a second mistrial, which is unusual for this district.

The first mistrial for Justin Purcell, charged with second-degree sexual abuse, resulted last summer after a defense attorney inappropriately indicated what sentencing would be for the crime. Jurors aren't part of the sentencing process and are not to have any knowledge of potential punishment.

Purcell's second mistrial on Dec. 8 resulted from a hung jury. The jurors told the judge they were deadlocked after eight hours and couldn't reach a unanimous verdict.

The 14-year-old girl, who now is 15, testified that Purcell sexually assaulted her. Purcell, who was 17 at the time, told police he didn't have sexual contact with the girl on Jan. 11, 2013, at a Marion residence.

First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said the office does not track mistrials, but he knows the percentage has to be low. He said he tries to ask many questions during jury selection to ensure possible jurors will be fair, impartial and understand they must work together to reach a unanimous verdict.

However, there is no way to prevent a mistrial if a jury just can't agree, he said.

'Nobody wants a mistrial,” Maybanks said. 'It's preferable for a judge to give the Allen Charge - an instruction to go back in and try to reach a unanimous verdict. They may send them back more than once.”

The jurors in Purcell's trial told 6th Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill they were deadlocked after three hours of deliberations. He then instructed them Dec. 5 to go back and try to reach a verdict. When they resumed deliberations Dec. 8, they sent a note to the judge near the end of the day, saying they still were deadlocked.

Judge Nancy Baumgartner, who took over for Thornhill because he had a scheduling conflict, polled the jurors and asked each one if the deadlock could be broken with more time, but all said it couldn't and she declared a hung jury.

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden, who is prosecuting the Purcell case, declined to comment because the charges will not be dismissed and the trial is being reset.

Vander Sanden said he has experienced mistrials in the past, but most of those resulted from something other than a hung jury.

Vander Sanden had a mistrial last year in a burglary case, but it resulted when a jury foreperson didn't show up for the second day of deliberations. An alternate juror couldn't replace the missing juror because defendant Darrell Bolden, 52, of Cedar Rapids would not consent to it, since deliberations had started the day before.

Judge Sean McPartland, after waiting for the juror about three hours, said he didn't have any other option but to declare a mistrial. Bolden was tried again several months later and was convicted of second-degree attempted burglary and possession of burglary tools.

A few years ago, Vander Sanden had an arson case that ended in a mistrial because a subpoenaed witness failed to show up to testify, according to court documents. The second trial ended in another mistrial because the jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. The third trial resulted in a conviction.

Maybanks said if there is a mistrial, a prosecutor has to weigh the options of pursuing the case based on evidence and witnesses.

'It's really tough when it's a sexual abuse, involving a child, and you tell them this is the final time they will have to do this (testify), and then it's a mistrial,” Maybanks said.

'You have to consider whether you want to put this child or adult through it again. We don't want to retraumatize them.”

Maybanks said that in his experience, when the judge orders a jury to try again, it usually reaches a verdict. That seems to happen on the bigger cases involving murder charges or another serious crime, he said.

The other teen who was charged in the Purcell case, Isaac David Hall, 18, of Fairfax, pleaded guilty in August to two counts of third-degree sexual abuse.