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Jury convicts Ignacio resident
Stelzer guilty of sex assault
Herald Staff Writer
Paul Stelzer showed little emotion as the jury foreman announced the guilty verdicts. He shook his head in disappointment.
Sentencing is set for 3 p.m. Feb. 2, 2010.
The three-day trial was held this week in 6th Judicial District Court in La Plata County. District Judge David Dickinson oversaw the trial.
Prosecutors said Stelzer raped a woman who he was intimate with, assaulted her, abused her child, and tried to retaliate against her by having someone drug her and burglarize her home. He also pointed a gun at the woman.
Most of the crimes occurred during the first week of June 2008. In the following months, Stelzer tried to recruit ex-convicts to harm the victim so she couldn't testify at the trial. The victim-tampering was never carried out, and the victim testified at the trial.
Stelzer, who did not testify, was acquitted of one count of tampering with a victim.
The case was prosecuted by David Ottman, deputy district attorney for the 6th Judicial District.
Stelzer's defense lawyer said the victim changed her story numerous times and there was little physical evidence to support the charges. A rape examination found no evidence of an assault, the defense lawyer said.
The jury consisted of nine women and three men. They took about a half-day to reach a verdict on all eight charges.
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