A state district judge on Thursday dismissed underage sex charges against a volunteer worker at the Aztec Bible Baptist Church because the teenage church member who was the alleged victim refused to testify, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

Wendel Nix, 29, went to trial Thursday on a dozen charges related to an improper sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl and was facing up to 150 years in prison if he were convicted, the Daily Times said.

Charges were brought against Nix in July 2007 after the girl told investigators that the two had several sexual encounters until she decided to end the relationship, the paper reported.

The teen testified for more than an hour about the alleged sexual abuse at a preliminary hearing in the case, but the now-15-year-old girl refused to testify at a February trial and prosecutors decided not to seek contempt of court charges against her, the Daily Times said.

This week, when questioned by prosecutors, the girl repeatedly answered, "No comment," the paper reported.

"We're here for you today," prosecutor David Ottman told the girl when she took the witness stand. "Do you understand the gravity of this?"

"With all due respect, no comment," the girl replied, with what the Daily Times described as a slight smirk.

Although testimony in a preliminary hearing can be used when a witness is absent or refuses to testify at the trial, in this case half the girl's testimony on tape was accidentally erased, the Daily Times said.

Without the girl's testimony and corresponding evidence, state District Judge Thomas Hynes dismissed the charges.

"Unfortunately what happened today was somewhat of a travesty of our legal system," Hynes said.

Nix declined to comment, the Daily Times reported. 

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