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Man convicted of sexually assaulting women as they left Denver bars facing new charges

Prosecutors have filed new criminal charges against a serial rapist who was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault earlier this year, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.

In the latest charges, filed this week, prosecutors alleged that Byron L. Whitehorn, 53, sexually assaulted and falsely imprisoned a woman on May 27 at his home after offering to drive her home from a bar in Denver’s Civic Center neighborhood.

Whitehorn was found guilty of eight counts of sexual assault against four women in June. Prosecutors said he targeted and raped multiple drunk women leaving bars in Lower Downtown Denver in 2017 and 2018.

According to the arrest affidavit in the latest case, the victim and her spouse went to a bar in the 1000 block of North Broadway on May 27 and had dinner that was accompanied by multiple alcoholic beverages.

Between 9 and 9:30 p.m., the couple decided to leave the bar. The victim and her partner got separated after she decided to use the bathroom, while her partner went to her vehicle.

Whitehorn allegedly introduced himself to the victim’s partner and asked if she wanted a ride home, while she walked to her vehicle. She entered her vehicle and waited for her partner to leave the bathroom and exit the bar, according to the affidavit.

Minutes later, the victim walked out of the bar and was allegedly approached by Whitehorn. The victim’s partner “due to being intoxicated and confused .. did not know if (the victim) and the defendant knew each other,” according to the affidavit.

Whitehorn allegedly told the victim’s partner “everything was alright and not a big deal and he could take (the victim) home,” according to the affidavit.

The victim entered Whitehorn’s vehicle and they left. She became concerned when they passed North High School, which was the opposite direction of her home, the affidavit said. Whitehorn allegedly pulled into his garage at his home in Wheat Ridge.

At this time, the victim spoke with her partner as she was confused and began checking each door, so she could exit; however, they were all locked. Whitehorn then began sexually assaulting her, according to the affidavit.

The victim told investigators she remembered “panicking and started checking interior doors to exit.” Whitehorn allegedly told the victim to get dressed as she could not leave “due to the neighbors that would get the defendant in trouble,” according to the affidavit.

The victim escaped the residence and her partner successfully tracked her by using a locating application on her phone.

About a month after the assault, the victim and her partner read a news article with Whitehorn’s mugshot after he was convicted of multiple sexual assault crimes. They contacted the Denver Police Department and  both identified Whitehorn as the man who approached them on the night of the assault, according to the affidavit.

Investigators tracked Whitehorn’s location on that night through data acquired from his ankle monitor and found he was near the bar in the Civic Center neighborhood between 9:20 and 9:38 p.m. Additionally, he returned home shortly after, according to the affidavit.

Whitehorn is scheduled to be sentenced for his previous conviction on Friday. He will appear in court on the new charges on Sept. 27, according to online court records.

Byron Whitehorn. (Photo courtesy of the Denver District Attorney's Office)
Byron Whitehorn. (Photo courtesy of the Denver District Attorney’s Office)


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