By Reese Dunklin, Matt Sedensky and Mitch Weiss, Associated Press Facing thousands of cases of clergy sex abuse, U.S. Catholic leaders addressed their greatest crisis in the modern era with a promised reform: Mandatory review boards. These independent panels with lay people in each diocese would review allegations fairly and kindly. And they would help […]
sexual assault
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Justice means we must believe sexual assault survivors first
It is heartbreaking, infuriating and almost too hard to watch. A young woman is asked to repeat the painful details of her sexual assault to investigators over and over and over again. Viewers of the Netflix series “Unbelievable” will recognize this story of a serial rapist in Colorado and in Washington State. It may be, as […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s former attorney general wanted grand jury investigation of priest abuse scandal — but didn’t get it
Former Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman says she would have preferred a criminal investigation of child sex abuse in the state’s three Catholic dioceses and that she talked to former Gov. John Hickenlooper about the prospect of launching one. But as Coffman worked to find a way last year to account for priests’ behavior, she […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
At least 166 children have been sexually abused by Catholic priests in Colorado since 1950, new report finds
Catholic priests in Colorado sexually abused at least 166 children since 1950, according to a damning, 263-page report released Wednesday by an independent investigator who found the church expunged files and covered up abuse for decades. It took nearly 20 years on average for the church to stop an abusive priest after receiving an abuse […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: Trying to “do better” for sexual assault victims
I’m a sucker for a good television series. I get sucked in by well-written story arcs and the evolution of complex characters. That’s what I hoped to find in Netflix’s new limited series Unbelievable. I came away shaken, but hopeful. Embarrassingly, I did not know the premise of Unbelievable before I began watching; I’d just […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
DNA testing leads to break in decades-old Colorado murder case. But privacy questions are being raised.
Michael Whyte drove out of a parking lot, his belly full of fast food lunch, oblivious that police detectives had been watching him eat. Now, they were gingerly collecting the cup they had seen him drink from just minutes earlier. The two were eager with anticipation because, after more than three decades of fruitless leads, […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Federal investigation launched into former Westminster cop sentenced to 90 days in jail for unlawful sexual contact
The FBI has launched a federal investigation into a former Westminster police officer who was sentenced to 90 days in jail after being convicted of unlawful sexual contact while on duty, a penalty that drew outrage. A federal search warrant was filed by the FBI in June related to the case against the former officer, […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: How a prison gang-rape led to a glimmer of hope
Prison terrifies most people. For members of the LGBTQ community — particularly transgender individuals — the prospect is even more grim. While it won’t eliminate that disparity, the recent settlement between a transgender Colorado inmate and the Colorado Department of Corrections represents a positive step in the right direction. Last year Lindsay Saunders-Velez reported several […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Here is why Colorado didn’t convene a grand jury to investigate priest abuse as Pennsylvania did
With the announcement Tuesday that the Catholic church in Colorado will voluntarily participate in an independent investigation into sexual abuse by its priests comes a big question: Why didn’t the state convene a grand jury to investigate, as Pennsylvania did? The answer has to do with the limited powers Colorado’s attorney general has to look […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers aim to close loophole that led appeals court to overturn foster parent’s child sex assault conviction
The following story contains graphic details from a child sexual assault case that could be objectionable to some readers. When Senon Louis Ramirez’s conviction for sexually assaulting one of his foster children was overturned last year because of a loophole in Colorado law, there was outrage over how such a gap could exist. But the […]