Mistrial as Varno jury deadlocks on child sexual assault charges

[Jim Burton]

https://www.benningtonbanner.com/local- ... c6104.html

BENNINGTON — The jury in a sexual assault case involving the alleged years-long sexual abuse of two 4-year-old twins announced, after deliberating for nearly four hours, that they were hopelessly deadlocked on all four of the felony charges. Soon after the note, Bennington Judge John Valente formally declared a mistrial.

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Levi Varno, also known as Levi Haner, was charged in 2024 with four felony counts of aggravated and repeated sexual assault of a child, stemming from the alleged years-long sexual assaults of twin boys beginning in 2011 when the victims were 4-years-old. He faced a possible life sentence if he was convicted on the charges.

According to an affidavit in the case, Manchester Police were notified in the summer of 2024 of a possible sexual assault occurring years ago in Manchester by the father of the victim. The father reported that his child, now a young adult, texted him that Varno, who lived for a time with the victim, had raped him and his brother starting in 2011.

The affidavit states that Varno's mother Angel, whose photograph appeared on the front cover of the Bennington Banner relating to a different sexual assault case involving Varno, prompted the victim to text his father about his own assault years earlier. The victim disclosed to his father that Angel Varno had “walked in and saw Levi raping him, walked out, and shut the door.”

According to the affidavit, the abuse started when both boys were living at the Dufresne Trailer Park in Manchester. The alleged repeated assaults were frequent and in many locations. Varno, a family member, allegedly used to babysit the twins frequently at the time.

On Wednesday, the second day of the two-day trial, several family members testified on behalf of the state, including the father and grandfather of the victims as well as the defendant's mother. The defense called just one witness, Varno’s biological sister, who testified that there was no opportunity for the assault to occur due to her never allowing the boys to be alone with Varno. She allegedly had custody of the victims at the time, even though Bianchi was able to establish a period when the boys would have been left alone with Levi and Angel Varno.

Levi Varno chose not to testify on his own behalf.

Throughout the two-day trial, doubt seemed apparent with the lack of any physical or eye-witness evidence of the alleged abuse. Charges were not filed until the summer of 2024, when one of the alleged victims had already become a young adult with admitted mental health issues.

On the stand Tuesday, the first day of the trial, the young victim could recall many of the events, but details were at times fuzzy. A video made by investigators in 2011, when the victim was just five, could not establish whether the child could distinguish between the truth and a lie, prompting the investigators to end the interview without going any further than the then 4-year-old telling them that Varno “was naked with them when they took a bath.”

The only other evidence in the case came secondhand from paternal family members, who testified about the boys' demeanor during the supposed events. An exception to that was when, back in 2011, one of the boys allegedly asked the grandmother whether they should “tell her their secret.”

Stern, on cross-examination, hinted at possible recollection issues with the victim due to his age and alleged mental health issues. During cross-examination, as part of a strategy to introduce reasonable doubt, Stern also alluded to issues with family dynamics while the twins were growing up as a possible avenue for doubting whether the abuse actually occurred, or whether the abuse was the result of prompting or coaching arising.

Under questioning from Stern, the DCF investigator who interviewed the victim back in 2011 also confirmed that she was unable to establish whether the young victim knew the difference between the truth and a lie.

After the mistrial was declared, prosecutor Jared Bianchi thanked the jury for their service. When asked whether his office would pursue the charges further in a possible new trial, Bianchi stated, “We will look at everything and decide when the time is right.”

Varno remains in custody on separate charges stemming from a plea deal last May in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault against an underage young woman who became pregnant with his child. Varno is currently scheduled for a contested sentencing hearing in that case in January 2026.