Closing arguments were made Wednesday in the trial for a Pagosa Springs man suspected of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl last year in Bayfield.

The trial for Rodney Keller, 53, began last week. Jurors went into deliberation late Wednesday after hearing closing arguments from the prosecution and Keller’s defense attorney.

Jurors have no time limit to come to a verdict.

According to authorities, Keller was invited by an ex-girlfriend to play cards and have drinks at her female friend’s house in Bayfield on June 2, 2018.

At the end of the night, the owner of the house, and mother of the alleged victim, offered to let Keller spend the night. Keller was supposedly living out of his car in Pagosa Springs.

The next morning, the child woke up before her mother and found Keller on the couch. Authorities say Keller spent the morning with the child and eventually gestured for the child to follow him into a guest bedroom where he sexually assaulted her.

The girl told her mother about the assault later in the day. Investigators with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office and Bayfield Marshal’s Office questioned Keller the same day, but he denied the allegations.

In closing arguments, Keller’s defense attorney, Heather Little, said the child fabricated the story because she wanted more attention from her parents. She said the 8-year-old girl’s retelling of the alleged assault has been inconsistent.

“It might be hard for a lot of people to imagine why a child might fabricate a story,” Little told jurors. “That’s what we have here today.”

Little said there is not enough physical evidence to convict Keller, despite DNA evidence found on the girl that showed he was a possible match.

Deputy District Attorney Sean Murray said Keller’s attorneys have provided no evidence the child made up the story.

“This isn’t the kind of story a child says to get more attention,” Murray said. “That’s not how kids are.”

As to claims the child’s account of the alleged assault is inconsistent, Murray said: “Do you expect consistency from an 8-year-old? Memories don’t work that way.”

According to authorities, Keller was a registered sex offender. He was arrested after being recognized on “America’s Most Wanted” for sexual assault on a child in 2008, a charge to which he pleaded guilty.

During the course of the trial, jurors heard from the 2008 victim, who was also 8 years old at the time, as well as another victim who says Keller sexually assaulted her in 2007 when she was 6 years old.

“He sexually assaulted all three of them,” Murray told jurors. “She (the alleged victim in this case) has told the truth from the beginning.”

jromeo@durangoherald.com