Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Child sex case ends in mistrial

PORTALES — A trial last week for a Portales man charged with child sex crimes was set again for February after almost two hours of deliberations ended with a hung jury and mistrial.

Michael Borden, 39, was charged in March 2017 with first-degree felony criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13 and second-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor in connection with a period between Aug. 1, 2013, and Nov. 18, 2015, in Roosevelt County, according to court records.

The trial itself took almost the entirety of Tuesday in Judge Donna Mowrer’s court, and the jury deliberated close to two hours that evening before declaring they could not reach a unanimous verdict, according to Assistant District Attorney Jake Boazman.

“I don’t know why they were hung because we didn’t inquire, but from the state’s perspective we will be well-prepared for the next trial,” he said, noting a retired detective had a scheduling conflict that kept him from testifying at last week’s trial. “We believe the victim, and as for the state’s case we believe it was strong, and this isn’t going to deter us.”

Borden’s attorney Eric Dixon did not respond Friday to requests for comment. This month the state’s Supreme Court ordered Dixon’s license suspended for nine months or more and gave him 30 days to wrap up pending cases or find his clients new counsel; with a new trial date for Borden in late February, Boazman said there will likely need to be a status hearing before then to address the matter.

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