Daily Camera Article

Jury hung in ex-youth pastor's sex assault case
New trial has not yet been set

By Heath Urie (Contact)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

A Boulder district judge declared a mistrial Tuesday afternoon in the sexual-assault trial of a former youth pastor suspected of having a sexual relationship with a minor who was attending his Longmont church.

Judge D.D. Mallard said the jury was deadlocked after deliberating the fate of Peter Kim, 40, for almost seven hours Tuesday.

A juror told the Camera that the count was 8-4, with the majority in favor of conviction.

Kim was arrested last fall after a teen who attended Central Presbyterian Church, 402 Kimbark St., told her therapist that she was sexually involved with Kim between January 2001 and January 2004.

Kim is charged with child sexual assault by a person in a position of trust and a pattern of child sexual assault. He has a previous misdemeanor conviction for having a relationship with a teen he met while working with children at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church about 10 years ago.

Mallard said Kim's retrial likely will be set for late April.

"It happens," prosecutor Tim Johnson said of the hung jury. "It's a really difficult case."

Prosecutors said the district's rate of mistrials is between 5 percent and 10 percent.

Kim, who sat quietly with his head bowed for most of the proceeding, did not talk about the case. But Kim's attorney, Steve Louth, said he was "disappointed" with the outcome of the six-day trial. He said he would re-examine his arguments for Kim's defense before heading back to court.

"There were some things we could have done better," Louth said. "There were maybe some points we could have made clearer."

Jury forewoman Elly Conley, a 25-year-old Boulder resident, said after the trial that most of the 12 jurors agreed Kim was "a jerk" and had a "really inappropriate" relationship with the teen. But some jurors, she said, questioned the credibility of the accuser's testimony.

"Some of them were concerned the events didn't happen as (the accuser) said they did," said Conley, who voted in favor of conviction. "But I got the feeling that probably more happened than was presented at trial."

Conley said the jury initially was deadlocked 6-6, but two jurors changed their votes for conviction on the first count, sexual assault by a person in a position of trust.

The jury did not deliberate on the second count, a pattern of child sexual assault, because no verdict could be reached on the first count.

Conley said the four jurors in favor of Kim's acquittal were "firm from the very beginning" in their decisions and could not be swayed.

If a jury convicts Kim, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

Kim also faces two felony charges that he violated his bond conditions when he attended his children's elementary school holiday celebration in January, and again when he attended school sporting events twice in October.

Prosecutors said court appearances relating to those charges will likely be set to coincide with Kim's new trial date, which must be set within 90 days.