Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Officer in Training Arrested for Sexual Assault


A police officer in training from Parachute, Colorado was arrested on sexual assault charges . Kristopher Duncan, 25 has been charged with a class-four felony sexual assault stemming from an incident, on April 18, but details weren’t disclosed.

Officer Duncan was terminated last Friday for violation of the code of conduct. He is being held in the Pitkin County Jail on a $7,500 bond. Instead of being held in the Garfield County jail, where he was arrested, they moved him to the Pitkin County jail for his safety. (Guess he was afraid they would beat his ass at the other jail.)

Parachute Town Administrator Robert Knight said Duncan was hired Feb. 1 and was terminated April 18. "I released him from employment. An arrest of this nature is a violation of the code of conduct," said Knight. "We find the allegations very disturbing, and our hearts go out to all involved."

The town of Parachute has about 1,400 residents and eight police officers.

The charges carry a possible sentence range of two years to life in prison. Details of the alleged sexual assault were scarce yesterday but prosecutor Gail Nichols, who earlier in the day advised Duncan of the charge against him in the judge’s chambers, said it occurred sometime on April 18 and that the victim was an adult. She declined to provide details about the incident, such as the victim’s sex or age, adding that a heavily redacted arrest affidavit should be available for public inspection today.

Duncan is due in Garfield County District Court on April 30 at 1:30 p.m. He has been ordered to stay away from the purported victim should he post bond.