Nearly all the copies of a small-town Colorado newspaper were stolen from newspaper racks on the same day the Ouray County Plaindealer published a story about charges being filed over rapes alleged to have occurred at an underage drinking party at the police chief's house while the chief was asleep.

Nearly all the copies of a small-town Colorado newspaper were stolen from newspaper racks on the same day the Ouray County Plaindealer published a story about charges being filed over rapes alleged to have occurred at an underage drinking party at the police chief’s house while the chief was asleep, the owner and publisher said Friday.

Mike Wiggins vowed to get to the bottom of it, posting Thursday on X, formerly Twitter: “If you hoped to silence or intimidate us, you failed miserably. We’ll find out who did this. And another press run is imminent.”

The newspaper posted the story on social media and removed its website paywall so people could read about the felony sexual assault charges filed against three men, including a relative of the police chief, for actions that allegedly occurred at a May 2023 party in Ouray where drugs and alcohol were used, according to court records. The suspects were ages 17, 18 and 19 at the time, and the person who reported the rapes was 17, records said.

  • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
    873·
    10 months ago

    this is tooo tasty. did someone not realize what happens when you try and hide ‘stories’. and in Print?!?! wtf??

    streeeiisaaand where are you

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldM
    802·
    10 months ago

    Gosh it sure would be a shame if everyone here commented and liked this post. That would be just awful for the alleged rapist.

  • fxt_ryknow@lemmy.world
    73·
    10 months ago

    Shout out to Plaindealer. The move to remove the pay wall so EVERYONE can read this story online. That’s a nice “Fuck you” to the thieves. Haha.

  • derphurr@lemmy.world
    561·
    10 months ago

    So the victim woke up, couldn’t find her clothes and left with police chiefs sweatshirt in mid May. Goes to hospital and they call Sheriff obviously, but he can’t investigate because he hired the police chief and was former chief and his investigator also had worked for the police chief. So obviously they have to involve CBI (state investigator)

    May gang rape… Then “CBI agents interviewed suspects in July”… Then… “July 20, agents used a search warrant to seize evidence from the police chief’s house”… To “were all arrested on warrants for suspected felony sexual assault in December. All have posted bail and been released from jail”

    Oh and the police chief knew for month about the investigation. CBI took two months to even question suspects or collect evidence… Another five months to charge anyone.

    They left freaking bite marks on the girl.

    The DNA tests on samples collected during the hospital sexual assault exam matched Trujillo – in a vaginal sample – and Dieffenderffer – from a bite mark.

  • Got_Bent@lemmy.world
    36·
    10 months ago

    They stole print newspapers to hide a story? Were the perpetrators spotted wearing onions on their belts and chanting 23 skidoo?

    • derphurr@lemmy.world
      18·
      10 months ago

      No they found the guy who stole the newspapers

      admitted he took the newspapers because of the front page story

      Plaindealer is not disclosing Choate’s relationship to the sexual assault case.

      The theft was not connected in any way to the three defendants in the case, their families or the Ouray Police Department.

      I’m not a Sherlock, but if you read those two together, sounds like the victim’s (who was never named) relative (father?) stole the newspapers?

      Otherwise they wouldn’t have the sentence about not disclosing

      • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
        7·
        10 months ago

        There’s other reasons they may not disclose it. If they’re a minor they probably wouldn’t, for example. The minor in this case was only disclosed because the severity of the crime. They could also just not want to disclose it because they just don’t want to or just haven’t gotten to it yet.

  • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
    33·
    10 months ago

    Ashton Whittington, Gabriel Trujillo and Nathan Dieffenderffer have been arrested for suspected sexual assault on a warrant from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

  • exothermic@lemmy.world
    15·
    10 months ago

    Well, I feel safe knowing that the police are as wise as a child trying to hide their report card from their parents. Our public safety is in good hands!

  • pope@c0tt0n.world
    151·
    10 months ago

    Rapist cops? I don’t know. TV tells me all cops are my friends and superheroes who scowl at bad guys

  • r00ty@kbin.life
    12·
    10 months ago

    So, you print the story on the front page the next day and print double the copies. And keep going.

    Make them work for it.