Former state Rep. Rochelle Galindo and her campaign manager Fabio Cordeiro on Wednesday were cited for providing alcohol to minors after a Greeley Police Department investigation of claims that Galindo had sexually assaulted a young campaign worker.
No charges were filed in the sex assault case. Heavily redacted reports released Thursday by the Greeley Police Department indicate that the alleged victim worked on Galindo’s 2018 campaign and decided not to move forward with the case because Galindo resigned on May 12 and because of media attention.
Galindo did not return a request for comment.
Police began investigating the allegations in early May, after a reporter for the conservative news site Complete Colorado received a text message alleging that Galindo, a Democrat, had sexually assaulted female campaign workers after giving them alcohol. That reporter, Sherrie Peif, told The Colorado Sun that she passed the text along to a source to see whether she knew anything about the allegations. She said the source then gave the text to police.
Police interviewed one of the women, who said she shared alcohol, marijuana and cigarettes with Galindo during campaign work, and several times had sex with Galindo. In some instances, she reported, she was in a black-out state and could not remember what happened. She told investigators she had not been in a position to consent and felt she had been taken advantage of or sexually assaulted.
She also described feeling powerless to stop the ongoing sexual contact, worried that she would be pushed out of the campaign. The woman told investigators that Galindo joked that she was her Monica Lewinsky, referring to the 21-year-old White House intern with whom President Bill Clinton had an “inappropriate relationship” from 1995 to 1997.
Galindo was cited with a misdemeanor offense for providing alcohol to someone under age 21 last fall. Cordeiro was cited under the same local statute, accused of buying alcohol, including wine and beer, that was given to a minor female last fall. Both are scheduled to appear in court on July.
Although Galindo said the allegations against her were false, she resigned from the state House on May 12. The lawmaker, who had just completed her first year at the Colorado Capitol, also was facing a recall effort.
House Speaker KC Becker, D-Boulder, and Gov. Jared Polis said they thought Galindo made the right decision when she resigned.
A Democratic vacancy committee will select Galindo’s replacement.
May 23, 2019, 9:34 p.m. This story has been updated to clarify the chronology of how Greeley police received the text message tip.