A Pima County jury failed to come to a decision Thursday in the case of a a 21-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl in a tunnel near the Tucson Mall.
The judge declared a mistrial Thursday afternoon, marking the second time it has happened in the case.
Joshua Huffman, 21, and Joseph DeFrancesco, 25, are accused of luring a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy into a tunnel near the Tucson Mall in January 2006 with promises of marijuana.
According to Deputy Pima County Attorney Shawn Jensvold, the men robbed the couple once inside the tunnel and forced the girl to perform oral sex on them at gunpoint.
DeFrancesco pleaded guilty to one count each of sexual conduct with a minor and aggravated assault of a minor and testified against Huffman earlier this week.
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Closing arguments in Huffman’s trial were heard Wednesday.
Jensvold reminded jurors that Huffman was identified by the victims and the girl's wallet was found in Huffman's room along with the boy's Playboy lighter.
Defense attorney Eric Larsen told jurors that not only does his client have an alibi, but there is nothing unique about the wallet or the lighter.
The defense attorney also suggested that the boy identified Huffman as one of the attackers because he felt horrible he hadn’t been able to protect the girl in the tunnel.
During the attack, he was unable to help the girl, but later, “he wants to help. He needs to help. He’s got to help,” Larsen said.
The boy only identified Huffman as one of the assailants after realizing Huffman had been portrayed in the media as one of the “cactus killers” in an earlier criminal damage case, Larsen said.
If the boy had immediately recognized Huffman, he would have told the girl as they made their way out of the tunnel following the attack, Larsen said.
The boy did not do so, Larsen said.
As for the girl, she only told the police that Huffman was “kinda familiar,” Larsen reminded jurors.
“They’re not evil, they’re just simply mistaken,” Larsen said of the teens.
DeFrancesco had plenty of motive to lie --he worked out a deal with prosecutors and is facing as little as five years in prison, Larsen said.
Huffman’s original trial last October ended in a mistrial when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision.
The case is being presided over by Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields.
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