VALPARAISO | A Porter Superior Court judge declared a mistrial Wednesday night in the molestation case against a Valparaiso man after his jury failed to reach a verdict.

It was not known Wednesday night what the Porter County prosecutor's office's next move would be after Joseph Miller's trial ended in a hung jury.

Miller, 33, opted Wednesday morning not to take the stand to respond to charges he performed oral sex and had sexual intercourse with a 9-year-old girl.

The defense for Miller brought the evidence portion of the trial to a close by reading earlier testimony from the case's lead detective, who said he did not know there were six other people in the house at the time of the alleged offense and did not speak to any of them.

Porter County Sheriff's Department Detective William Young -- who is reportedly out of state, despite an attempt by the defense to have him present to testify -- said in the deposition he never saw the results of the medical examination done on the girl.

Earlier Wednesday, Stacy Bozinovski, a forensic DNA analyst with state police, said she tested various swabs taken during the medical examination of the girl and found no sign of any male DNA.

When questioned by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost, Bozinovski said such evidence could have been washed away.

The jury began deliberating shortly after lunch.

Miller was charged with two Class A felony counts of child molesting, which each carry between 20 and 50 years in prison.

The girl, who is now 10, testified Tuesday that Miller performed the sex acts on her on a couch on the lower level of his home July 26, 2009.

"He just starts touching me and says, 'I really don't want to do this, but I have to,'" she said.

Defense attorney Frank Jury told jurors a short time before that a medical examination done on the girl, less than 24 hours after the alleged incident and well within the optimal period of 72 hours, revealed no signs of physical trauma or any fluids to support the claims of sexual abuse.

A nurse reportedly told jurors later that those results do not necessarily mean a sexual assault did not take place.

In response to questioning from Jury, the girl said the intercourse did not hurt, she made no sounds, and Miller neither held her down against her will nor threatened her.

Jury said none of the six other people in the house at the time of the alleged incident heard or saw anything. Some, he said, were as little as 10 feet or so away in another room.