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	Church Volunteer's Sex Charges Dropped By James Monteleone Daily Times May 9, 2008 http://www.daily-times.com/news/ci_9200334 AZTEC — A district judge dropped criminal charges Thursday against the church volunteer accused of having an ongoing sexual relationship with a 14-year-old church member because the victim refused to testify. Wendel Nix, 29, appeared before a jury Thursday on 12 underage sex charges. If convicted, the man faced nearly 150 years in prison. When charges first were filed in July 2007, the victim told police after meeting each other through the Aztec Bible Baptist Church, Nix sent text messages and called the girl hoping to spend time with her alone. Nix and the teen allegedly had repeated sexual encounters, until the victim decided to end the relationship. The girl reported the incidents to police a few days later after being encouraged to do so by family and friends, arrest documents state. Nix declined to comment on the cleared case. After failing to appear at a February jury trial for the case, the victim, now 15, faced contempt of court charges, but the District Attorney's Office opted not to seek punishment of the teen. "Her decision to not testify speaks for itself," said attorney Mitchel Burns, representing Nix. "My client's grateful to have his freedom back." Despite testifying about the sexual abuse for more than an hour in a preliminary hearing on the case, the victim answered questions Tuesday, repeatedly stating, "no comment." "We're here for you today," Prosecutor David Ottman politely told the victim while she was on the witness stand in front of a jury. "Do you understand the gravity of this?" The alleged victim replied casually. "With all due respect, no comment," she said with a slight smirk. Traditionally that magistrate court testimony could be included in a jury trial with an unavailable witness, but in this case, the recording of half the victim's testimony was erased accidentally. Without the victim's testimony and corresponding evidence, District Judge Thomas Hynes made a direct ruling and dropped the charges. "It's just bad luck," Ottman said of the lost recording that caused the non-jury dismissal. "I'd like to think they'll be a little more careful next time." The court anticipated the victim to not participate, but the state wanted to make one more attempt at the case, the judge explained to jurors who played no role in the court's decision. "Unfortunately what happened today was somewhat of a travesty of our legal system," Hynes said.
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