Verdict pending in Boncz trial

SANDPOINT — The verdict in Mark Richard Boncz’s trial on a charge of lewd and lascivious conduct rests with 1st District Judge Steve Verby.

Verby, who is acting as the jury after Boncz opted to be tried by the court, could make a decision on the Newport, Wash., man’s guilt or innocence today.

Boncz, 54, is accused of molesting a 5-year-old girl in 2005. A Bonner County grand jury indicted Boncz last spring. The alleged abuse occurred while he was living in a travel trailer behind her parents’ home in Priest River.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson called two witnesses on Thursday. Sue Warren testified that she did not believe Boncz was capable of such a heinous crime. Warren also told the court that she thought the alleged victim’s mother had romantic feelings toward Boncz.

During a recorded interview with Priest River Police Chief Ray Roberts that was played in court during the state’s case, Boncz speculated the allegations against him resulted from not reciprocating the feelings.

Jamie Butigan, the other defense witness, testified that other people had stayed in the trailer after Boncz was kicked out, raising the question of another perpetrator.

Prosecutor Louis Marshall rested his case with the expert testimony of Dr. Joyce Gilbert, a local pediatrician who examined the girl when authorities became aware of the allegations.

Gilbert’s testimony indicated the girl, now 10, gave her a much more detailed account of the alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Boncz, which included being bound with elastic cord and raped twice. The girl testified on Tuesday of being raped once and made no mention of being tied up.

Although the girl’s hymen was intact, it was Gilbert’s medical opinion that the girl had been sexually abused.

Robertson challenged Gilbert’s assertions during her closing remarks to the court. Robertson pointed out that Gilbert’s examination was preceded by investigations conducted by police and the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, which she argued had an influential effect.

Moreover, Gilbert’s medical opinion of probable sexual abuse is a much less rigorous standard than the legal standard of proving an offense beyond a reasonable doubt, said Robertson, who questioned the reliability of the girl’s claims.

“This comes across more as narration of a story as opposed to what happened with this child,” Robertson said.

Marshall argued Boncz exploited vulnerabilities within the family and groomed the girl to slake his sexual desires.

“You’re looking at a man who targeted a family,” said Marshall. “You have a very brave girl who stood up.”

Marshall further argued that discrepancies in the girl’s accounts were ultimately minor and which may have resulted from the difference between relating an experience in private as opposed to a public legal proceeding.

Marshall also took aim at the credibility of Boncz, who claimed to have no unsupervised access to the child when the testimony showed he did. Boncz was also somewhat elusive during the police investigation instead of trying to clear the air as soon he became aware of the allegations.