Author: Christopher Osher
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Colorado Springs-based USA Swimming allowed culture resulting in sexual abuse of 6 girls, lawsuits allege
Colorado Springs-based USA Swimming allowed coaches to sexually prey on children on swim clubs and urged a country club in Colorado Springs to hire a coach with a history of sexual misconduct, according to lawsuits filed on behalf of six women who claim they were sexually abused as minors. The lawsuits claim that USA Swimming,…
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ACLU lawsuit claims ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment of Colorado prisoners during COVID-19 pandemic
Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado’s executive director of corrections have inflicted “cruel and unusual punishment” on prisoners by failing to put in place policies to protect those who are medically vulnerable from dying of COVID-19, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday by the ACLU of Colorado. The lawsuit seeks an emergency court order to…
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Colorado corrections facilities see high rates of COVID infections; hundreds of prisoner deaths predicted
COVID-19 cases in Colorado’s corrections system have shot up in recent weeks, putting the rate of infections inside prisons, jails and halfway houses far above the rate for all other Coloradans while a previously unreleased state report predicts the virus will cause hundreds of deaths in Colorado prisons. The largest coronavirus outbreak in the state…
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FBI investigating ex-CEO of Colorado Springs halfway house program in alleged $1 million theft
The FBI is investigating whether the former CEO of a Colorado Springs halfway house program stole more than $1 million from the nonprofit, which contracts with the state and El Paso County to house and rehabilitate felons, according to police reports and interviews. ComCor officials alleged to Colorado Springs police that Sean McDougall siphoned away…
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Charges dropped against Colorado Springs developer accused of stealing USOC incentive money
Prosecutors on Thursday dropped all charges against developer Ray Marshall, more than eight years after he was accused of embezzling more than $1 million from a city incentive package meant to keep the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs. The dismissal came two weeks after a former prosecution investigator in the case against Marshall joined…
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COVID-19 slams into Colorado’s prison system, with Sterling facility state’s largest outbreak
PHOTOS: Documenting COVID-19 in the Pikes Peak region COVID-19 has slammed into Colorado’s prison system, which already was struggling to keep corrections officers from quitting amid rising chaos, according to state data, interviews and legislative reports. As of Thursday, mass testing revealed that 241 prisoners and 11 staff members at Sterling Correctional Facility had COVID-19, making…
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138 inmates at Colorado’s largest prison test positive for coronavirus: CDOC
PHOTOS: Documenting COVID-19 in the Pikes Peak region More than half of the inmates who were tested for the coronavirus at the state’s largest prison have tested positive, the Colorado Department of Corrections said Friday. Of the 255 test results that have been finalized, 138 inmates at the Sterling Correctional Facility tested positive, according to…
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Polis administration charging $1,290 for records that would inform public on emergency response to COVID-19
Gov. Jared Polis’ administration charged $1,290 to journalists for records about how the state emergency operations center the governor established responded to the unfolding COVID-19 crisis. The Polis administration wants another $480 to make available records detailing Polis’ plans for providing additional ventilators to hospitals and how to conduct mass testing for COVID-19 virus infection.…
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Improving COVID-19 testing capacity just one issue for Colorado’s high-powered Innovation Response Team
– PHOTOS: Documenting COVID-19 in the Pikes Peak region. A lack of nasal swabs has rendered Colorado’s 10,000-a-day supply of test kits for determining who has contracted COVID-19 mostly useless. That problem is one of the top issues a high-powered group of influential business leaders and public officials are helping Gov. Jared Polis tackle as COVID-19 shutters…
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Colorado Watch | Colorado halfway houses: Violence, sex and drugs as promised reforms lag
First in a series by The Gazette’s investigative team Colorado’s criminal justice reforms are delivering a more violent mix of offenders to the state’s troubled community corrections system, filling up local halfway houses already struggling with violence, staff sexual misconduct, rampant drug use and health and safety concerns, a new Gazette investigation shows. The beleaguered…