SANDPOINT - The Idaho Court of Appeals is giving a Bonner County man convicted of lewd conduct another shot at reducing the lengthy prison term he is serving.

Mark Richard Boncz was accused of molesting a 5-year-old girl in Priest River in 2005. He was tried and convicted in 2009.

Boncz, 59, was given a life sentence, the first 15 years of which are fixed.

Boncz petitioned for post-conviction relief on grounds that his defense attorney wrongly prevented him from testifying at his trial.

Judge Jeff Brudie agreed that there was a question of material fact regarding whether Boncz had been prevented from testifying, but held that any exclusion of his testimony was not prejudicial.

On appeal, Boncz argued that Brudie erred by finding that there was no showing of prejudice. Boncz further argued that Brudie improperly analyzed his claim that his constitutional right to testify was violated.

The appeals court ruled on March 3 that Boncz demonstrated that his attorney's performance was deficient and was prejudiced by the deficiency.

Appeals Judge Karen Lansing noted that there were "four major inconsistencies" in the alleged victim's testimony. The girl, for instance, told a pediatrician that Boncz strapped her to a bed with bungee cords, but testified at trial that she used her arms to push Boncz off her, which would have been impossible if they were restrained above her head by the cords.

Other inconsistencies involved the number of times and how she was molested.

Had he been allowed to testify, Boncz said he would have contradicted the child's testimony point by point.

"Boncz's proposed testimony would have not only rebutted the child's testimony but also would have highlighted the inconsistencies in her reports concerning the use of bungee cords and the number of sexual acts," Lansing wrote in the 10-page unpublished opinion.

Lansing also concluded that Boncz's prima facie showing that he was prevented from testifying and that he was therefore prejudiced, which raises genuine issues of material fact as to his claim of a direct violation of his constitutional right to testify.

Judges Sergio Gutierrez and David Gratton concurred with Lansing.

The ruling has no effect on Boncz's conviction, which was affirmed by the appeals court in 2011. Boncz's civil suit seeking post-conviction relief is being remanded back to district court for further proceedings.

"Although we are certainly disappointed on the ruling, we will get another chance to defend this conviction and will vigorously do so," Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said.