Second trial of former Fowler church leader accused of child sexual assault ends in mistrial

The second trial of a former Fowler youth pastor and worship team leader accused of sexual assault has ended in another mistrial.

The mistrial was related to witness statements about having also been assaulted by the defendant, according to a party present in the courtroom at the time the mistrial was declared.

Defendent Gabriel Geringer's defense then reportedly motioned for a mistrial, arguing that the statements would unfairly prejudice a jury in favor of Geringer's accuser. Judge Deborah Eyler reportedly granted the motion.

"Mr. Geringer adamantly denies all allegations of impropriety. After the previous trial in 2021 ended with a hung jury 9 to 3 in favor of acquittal, we were looking forward to a final favorable resolution," said attorneys Bradley Smith and Michael Becker, who represented Geringer in the trial, in an emailed statement to the Chieftain. "It is unfortunate that the trial had to be stopped due to the improper action of a family member of the accuser."

"The mistrial was indeed caused by the statement of a prosecution witness that was in direct contradiction to the judge's orders regarding admissibility of evidence," Smith said in the email.

District Attorney Jeff Chostner stated that his office was "evaluating the viability of continuing with the case," and "will do so if legally possible."

"I can't comment further as this is still an active case, and any comment would be inappropriate," he said.

Geringer, 45, faced charges of sexual assault on a child, a class 4 felony, as well as a pattern of sexual assault on a child, a class 3 felony, for a second time after his first trial in September 2021 ended in a hung jury when jurors could not reach a verdict after more than 10 hours of deliberation.

In her opening statement to the jury Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Marguerite Bischoff argued that even in a small town there are secrets, and that Geringer abused the trust placed in him by the victim and her family to prey on a 14-year-old girl.

"She was 14 years old," said Bischoff. "She was homeschooled, the daughter of a single mother, he was in his 30s, a leader in their local church, and a farmhand at their family home,' said Bischoff.

Bischoff stated that due to the girl's mother's occupation as a home health specialist, she was away from home much of the time, leaving the girl unsupervised much of the time.

Geringer met the girl at the Fowler Christian Church when she was about 9 years old, Bischoff said. While in youth group under Geringer, he allegedly made her feel "special," including allegedly buying her gifts, taking her on trips, teaching her how to drive a pickup, confiding in her about fights with his wife, having her sit on his lap to learn to drive a tractor, and finally, taking her to a certain lookout point to "teach her how to kiss."

The girl, Bischoff stated, grew "infatuated" with Geringer. Meanwhile, the defendant's mother trusted Geringer, viewing him as a father figure for her daughter.

Bischoff stated that a neighbor grew concerned with the "flirtatious" relationship between the two and at one point went to the girl's mother, and that a witness once saw the two of them kissing. Geringer's wife also allegedly went to the girl's mother with concerns.

Bischoff stated that jurors would also see emails between the two and handwriting where Geringer allegedly told the girl he loved her.

Bischoff closed her opening statement by stating that "sex assaults don't happen in public." "They don't happen in church in front of the whole congregation, they happen when no one is looking."

Meanwhile, Smith argued in his opening statement that there wasn't much actual proof of the accusations against Geringer, with the alleged assaults happening between 2010 and 2011 and not reported until 2018.

"No one is arguing the closeness of the relationship," said Smith. "However, it was entirely within the bounds of a paternalistic, familial relationship. This was not a sexual relationship," the defense attorney said.

Smith argued that the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office's investigation, which began in 2018, was "half-hearted" and "haphazard," only interviewing people who the girl had spoken with and only after she had spoken with those witnesses.

He stressed a lack of contemporaneous questions asked, noting that in a small town, it would be extremely difficult to hide hundreds of sexual encounters that he stated would be alleged by statements that the two of them had sex two to three times a week.

"You notice the rhythm of life in a small town," he said. "And if something goes astray, you say, hey, isn't that the underage neighbor girl riding a truck with that married man? You might raise an eyebrow, you might ask questions. You see it once, maybe you don't think anything of it, you see it three, four, five, six times, you're darn right you're asking questions."

Overall, he argued that there is simply not enough evidence, and stressed the fact that no witness ever actually saw the two doing anything physical.

A setting hearing is scheduled on August 25, according to court records.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin @jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Trial of church leader accused of sexual assault ends in second mistrial