DENVER—A mistrial has been declared after the Denver Police Department told a judge they had trouble finding a recording of an interview with a Denver police officer accused of coercing a woman under arrest into performing a sex act to avoid going to jail.
Denver District Court Judge Robert McGahey chastised prosecutors and the police department for sloppy police work after they waited more than a year to disclose evidence against 31-year-old Hector Paez.
The woman told investigators Paez arrested her and took her to an isolated area where the alleged assault happened in May of last year.
According to the Denver Post, the evidence turned up just days before the trial was set to begin.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
