It took prosecutors three tries, but on Thursday a jury convicted a Durango man of sexual assault on a child for a pattern of abuse that occurred over a nearly three-year period.

Brandon Kurt Durrschmidt, 40, showed no obvious signs of emotion after the jury foreman read the verdict in 6th Judicial District Court. He glanced around the courtroom gallery a few times before hugging his attorney and being led out of the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies.

The Durango man faces eight to 24 years in prison. But under Colorado’s indeterminate-to-life sentencing laws, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars if a parole board finds him unfit to be released.

He is being held without bail at the La Plata County Jail. Sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. March 4.

It was the third trial for Durrschmidt, who was accused of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 10 on multiple occasions from April 6, 2016, through Jan. 28, 2019, in the Animas Valley north of Durango.

The first trial ended abruptly in April after a witness shared an opinion that should not have been shared with jurors. The second trial resulted in a mistrial Oct. 19 after a 12-person jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision.

This week’s trial began Monday and ended Wednesday afternoon. Jurors deliberated about four hours Thursday morning before reaching a unanimous decision. The jury was made up of six men and six women.

“The District Attorney’s Office is very thankful to the jury for their service,” said Sean Murray, assistant district attorney, after the verdict. “These cases are not easy for the parties. Our thoughts are with the victim and the victim’s family. The victim’s courage and commitment were nothing short of exemplary.”

Deputy district attorneys Justin Howard Pierce and Brad Neagos also prosecuted the case.

Public defense lawyers Justin Bogan and Kellan Schmelz declined to comment outside the La Plata County Courthouse.

During closing arguments, Schmelz said child sex abuse is a “heinous and horrifying” crime. But equally heinous and horrifying would be to convict an innocent man of such a crime, he said.

He asked jurors to consider how Durrschmidt or anyone else in his situation is supposed to establish innocence in a case that is based entirely on a girl’s accusation, with no physical evidence, no forensic evidence and no corroborative evidence.

He implored jurors to follow the law in such circumstances, which presumes defendants to be innocent unless prosecutors can prove otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt.

Schmelz said prosecutors failed to meet that burden in Durrschmidt’s case.

He faulted the investigation, saying investigators twisted and turned Durrschmidt’s words to fit their narrative. He faulted prosecutors for not producing certain pieces of evidence that might support their case. And he said the girl’s story was the result of “contamination” – or her gleaning information and taking cues from her parents.

“Is this trauma or is this a confused child having a false memory reinforced?” he asked jurors.

Prosecutors said the case hinged largely on a girl’s accusation because that is about the only evidence investigators had to work with. But in this case, the girl’s accusation was more than enough, Murray said.

He said it is unreasonable to expect prosecutors to produce eyewitnesses, a video of the assaults or a confession from Durrschmidt. It is not the type of crime that lends itself to those types of evidence, he said.

He played a video of the girl during a forensic interview, in which a social worker asks the girl detailed questions about what happened. The girl breaks down crying, hangs her head and begins recounting the details through uncontrollable sobs.

She answers “yes” to certain things that happened to her, and “no” to other things – another sure sign she is telling the truth and not exaggerating, Murray said. She told the same story over and over, he said, and her story remained consistent.

“Sometimes, this time, an accusation is way more than enough,” Murray said.

Pierce said it lacks common sense to think the girl’s family would manufacture allegations of sexual assault and put their 9-year-old daughter up to the task of convincing law enforcement, social workers and prosecutors of those lies.

Durrschmidt did not take the witness stand in his own defense.

shane@durangoherald.com