Tag: Sexual Assault
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Colorado legislators pass bill that sponsors say would strengthen sex crime victim protections
A Colorado bill that supporters say would strengthen victim protections and mandate law enforcement training on how trauma can affect survivors of sex crimes and domestic violence is on its way to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk for signing. Senate Bill 26-095 recently passed unanimously in the Senate and was mostly unopposed in the House, where…
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Corrections officials may be sued for employee’s alleged abuse of detainee, federal judge rules
High-level corrections officials may be sued for their own alleged failures to prevent or respond to an employee’s sexual misconduct toward a detainee, a federal judge decided last month. Rajae Bouhamidi was incarcerated at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. In late 2022, corrections officer Justin Torres allegedly began to sexually harass her. Eventually, he ordered…
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Denver officials, artists highlight start of Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Artist Jaz Palmer stood in front of a collection of local art in Lakewood to start Sexual Assault Awareness Month. When Palmer was 16, she told her mother that she had been assaulted by a family member. Her mother did not believe her. “That was a really, really difficult experience,” Palmer said. “It is so…
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Castle Rock man in custody after fleeing state before sexual assault conviction
A Castle Rock man who fled the state after being convicted of sexually abusing a child was arrested Sunday in Chaparral, N.M., authorities said. Jorge Alberto Campos, 42, failed to appear in court Friday, when a jury found him guilty of five counts of sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of…
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Thornton man sentenced to 68 years for kidnapping, assaulting teen girl
A Thornton man was sentenced to nearly 70 years in prison Friday for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 2023. Phillip Torres, 44, received 68 years-to-life in prison, the maximum allowable sentence under the law, for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in his home on June 20, 2023, according to a…
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WATCH: Sexual Assault, The System & Colorado
For many survivors of sexual assault in Colorado, their cases can get lost in a complex justice system, with alleged perpetrators unpunished. Several women detail their experiences, evidence and pursuit of justice.
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Toll to sexual assault survivors rises if they feel blamed and disbelieved
Natalie, a single mother, dropped off her son at daycare, went to therapy and then returned home. She swallowed a fistful of pills, washing them down with a six-pack of beer. She was ready to end her life. “I just wanted the pain to go away,” she said. Brittney Smith, an artist living in Colorado…
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Colorado rape cases rarely result in an arrest and prosecution
Authorities say they are especially difficult cases. In Colorado, most go nowhere. Over the past decade, for every 10 reports of rape, there is only one arrest. Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence. Kiersten May remembered a fuzziness overtake her as Saturday night slid into Sunday morning at the remote Colorado mountain campsite…
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Senate committee kills bill to track education violations
A proposed bill following in the wake of multiple Jeffco Public Schools sexual misconduct cases won’t make it to the Senate floor. The Colorado Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee denied proposed Senate Bill 26-055 on Tuesday afternoon with a vote of three-to-two, with Republican Senators Mark Baisley and Lynda Zamora Wilson being the…
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Former Centennial teacher sentenced to 60 years for sexually assaulting children
A former teacher at a Centennial private school was sentenced to 60 years in prison Friday for sexually assaulting multiple children in his care. Christopher Ballard, 28, of Lakewood, had been charged with nearly 24 sexual offenses against 12 child victims at the Journey Academy, where he had been employed since 2021, according to a…