The jury in the trial of Andrew and Shannon Muhle will reconvene Monday morning after failing to reach a verdict Friday.
The case against the West Fargo couple, accused of gross sexual imposition and abuse or neglect of a child, went to the jury just after 10:30 a.m., following two days of testimony.
The jury has been asked to decide whether Andrew Muhle, 35, 207 9½ Ave. W., is guilty of two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of abuse or neglect of a child. He is accused of raping a 4-year-old girl at least twice, once in front of an 8-year-old boy, leading to the abuse charge.
His wife, Shannon Muhle, 31, faces charges of abuse or neglect of a child for not stopping her husband from abusing the girl and with gross sexual imposition for raping the same 8-year-old boy.
A third child, now 7, said he witnessed sexual acts between Andrew Muhle and the girl.
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In his closing statement Friday, Assistant State's Attorney Mark Boening said in his closing that because the Muhles have denied all of the allegations, jurors' decision will be based on a simple question - whether jurors believe them or the children, Boening said.
Boening gave three reasons to believe the girl:
- The specific answers about being raped the girl gave a doctor who examined her
- The complexity of her statements to the doctor indicating that the girl wasn't making them up
- The doctor's finding that the girl had injuries consistent with sexual abuse.
In Shannon Muhle's case, testimony from the children has remained consistent, Boening said.
"We don't have just one disgruntled child," he said. "We've got all three kids describing acts of sexual abuse or sexual maltreatment."
Any inconsistencies in the boys' testimony came because disclosure of sexual abuse is "a continuing process," Boening said.
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In his closing argument, Steve Mottinger, Andrew Muhle's attorney, said that despite a vigorous cross-examination, Boening was unable to shake his client's claim of innocence.
It isn't unusual that Muhle would not know why the children would lie about sexual abuse, Mottinger said.
He urged jurors to pay close attention to any changes in the children's stories.
"If truth is a process, maybe the process is ongoing and they're backing away," he said.
Joe Johnson, Shannon Muhle's attorney, said the older boy hadn't incriminated his client until just before the trial and at the same time, the younger boy retracted his accusation against her - a contention that wasn't brought up during the trial itself.
"All of a sudden, (the older boy) gets on that (witness) stand and says things we've never heard before," Johnson said.
He noted that in her own testimony, Shannon Muhle strongly denied any sex acts with the boy.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Tom Pantera at (701) 241-5541
