BRIGHTON — An Aurora police officer accused of having a 15-year-old runaway take naked pictures of herself using his personal cellphone will go to trial next month.
Michael Mangino, 50, has been on leave without pay since he was charged with sexual exploitation of a child in March. He will appear for trial in Adams County District Court on July 13 at 8:30 a.m.
The case stems from a March 9 incident in which Mangino drove a runaway suspected of smoking pot to Children’s Hospital for a urine analysis so she could be medically cleared to go to the Arapahoe County Juvenile Assessment Center.
According to an arrest affidavit and testimony during a preliminary hearing Tuesday, the girl told investigators that Mangino said he had started taking photos of all the people he arrested. The girl told investigators that she thought Mangino wanted her to take photos of her naked body using his personal cellphone, and so she did.
Investigators found the photos on Mangino’s cellphone, according to the arrest affidavit and testimony.
Mangino lawyer Doug Jewell argued Tuesday that the girl previously had made a false allegation against her parents and that she changed her story several times — sometimes saying she thought Mangino insinuated that she should take photos of her genitals and sometimes saying he asked outright.
Prosecutor Cynthia Kowert noted that the girl had a “rough life” and “may not be able to articulate herself.”
Kowert noted that Mangino’s phone was protected by a password, meaning he would have had to have unlocked the phone before the girl could use it.
In the end, a jury will have to decide. Visiting Judge Kathleen Bowers couldn’t.
“There certainly are theories that would make her totally uncredible and conspiratorial even, but there are also theories that would make her credible,” Bowers said.
Mangino faces two counts of felony sexual exploitation of a child, one count of felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor and a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct.
Sara Burnett: 303-954-1661 or sburnett@denverpost.com
