Details emerge in Sex Assault Case

[Pachamama]

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20051229/NEWS/112290021

This just came out about an 8 year old who lives here in my community...the "perp" has a child in my daughter's kindergarten class....we were just at their house the week before this happened...I have friends whose children have "spent the night" at their house...

This just hit the news here this week in my community and I put the article from the Aspen Times on here because it gave more details than our own local paper the Marin IJ here in California. I am currently as many of you know dealing with the fact that my house flooded and my neighborhood hard hit by the storm and flooding that hit CA on Dec. 31st. In any event, I wanted to post this story because I am so shocked by it and I think that there will be more on this in the future. As disgusting as the crime, what is almost as bad and may end up letting the pedophile walk, is that the father of the victim actually destroyed the "evidence" by washing the sheets and clothes of his daughter because of concerns for the perps "reputation" since they both come from "prominent" families....what effing bullshit...I know the families...prominent my ass...How anybody could do this is beyond my comprehension, but how any parent wouldn't have the first reaction to wanting to kill somebody who did this and instead "cover up" the crime... :grr:

[Swamp Rat]

1. Just read it.

SICK BASTARDS!!! ... BOTH of them!

:hi:

[Pachamama]

7. Disgusting....

What kind of evil mofos would violate the trust and innoncence of an 8 year girl....I just know that if it had been me coming home and finding this sick shit in bed with my daughter, I wouldn't have whispered in his ear that I was going to kill him, he would be dead right now. And if the father of my child, if he didn't join me in that action and even suggested "covering up the crime", well then it might as well be a double homicide....or atleast a castration without anesthesia.... :grr:

[wakeme2008]

2. I do not know which is worse, the perp or the dad

:grr:

I am leaning to the dad....

[Pachamama]

5. They are both crimes....and the victim was then victimized twice..

...both by adults that should have been protecting her, not violating her and the trust she should be able to place in them. I am just sickened by this whole thing.

I'm also willing to put money on the fact that this wasn't the "first" time that the perp Stephen Harrison molested a child. He has probably done this before and to his own daughter....sick, sick, sick...:grr:

[ray of light]

3. how awful. I hope they embarrass the dad by actually charging him

as an assessory to the crime.


I hope they both wind up in prison, but chances are if this is a first, they'll get off lightly.

[Pachamama]

4. I've been talking w/ a few other parents & we feel the same way about the

Father of the victim and hope he's charged as an accessory. I'm relieved that I'm not the only one who sees that the second crime was the coverup attempt. I am also very concerned that Stephen Harrison, the perp, will get all lawyered up with high-profile defense attorneys and they will get him off, especially if there is no evidence and only the testimony of the mother. They will try to use the "I was drugged and drunk" defense and maybe he'll serve a little time and then he'll be off to Britain and disappear. Meanwhile, the Dad of the victim is another story. He represents what is so common when it comes to the topic of sexual abuse of children and where people try to be "hush hush" about it and keep it the dirty little secret. I and other parents don't want our children ever around him....he couldn't protect his own child...how could our children be safe around him?

[ray of light]

15. Can the father be charged as an accessory to the crime?

Or can he be charged with neglect or reported to Social Services? though Foster care isn't always the best situation either. That young girl will have many many issues and difficulties as a result. She will need therapy and may suffer from depression. If you and your neighbors want to help, then see if you can help her and the mother get away from that man and have the healthcare they need to help her.

[Pachamama]

19. Who knows...and meanwhile I found out I know the victim's family too...

I am beyond words....I am still finding out more details, but I think that there have got to be more details because when I found out who it was, I literally had my legs buckle under me and fell to the floor because the victims younger sibling is a classmate and friend of my daughter! OMG I know the family! My child just was at their house too before the X-mas break! I allowed her over to their house for a playdate, alone! The reason I'm in such shock is that the parents of this dear child are divorced, but they try to "co-parent" and live near each other. The father is one of the most dedicated people I've seen and his biggest fear has been that his ex-wife will take the girls out East to where her boyfriend is. It just doesn't seem possible that this man would "cover up" such a crime...I thus am either never going to trust another person again or I have to believe something is amiss. My husband who is friends with the "father/ex-husband" of the victim is really in shock. He also suggested something (we have no confirmation at this time) but he said "what if the article in the Aspen Times is only quoting the words of the Mother?". Apparanetely she has been wanting to get 100% custody and move out East with the kids...My husband suggested wouldn't that be a brilliant way to get your ex-husband to lose custody? Umm....I guess so....But, if that were so, this is an entirely more effed up situation than any of us can imagine....I just didn't think this shit could happen in my world...OMG, I'm so disgusted and freaked out....Those poor children, all of them....These stinkin effed up adults in their lives who have so betrayed their trust.... :grr:

[Maine-ah]

6. linkey no workey....

[Pachamama]

8. Try this link....

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20051229/NEWS/112290021

[Pachamama]

9. Just in case, here's some of the details....

The California man arrested Sunday and accused of molesting an 8-year-old girl in Aspen while vacationing here told police he was drunk and doesn't remember anything, according to court papers released Wednesday. But the victim said Stephen Harrison, 49, covered her mouth when she yelled for her mother and told her not to tell on him or he'd go to jail, the arrest warrant says.

The suspect's name is the only one that appears in the warrant because of the victim's age. But the report mentions that the girl's family is well-known in California and that the mother was repeatedly told not to call authorities. The mother also told police her ex-husband allegedly tried to destroy evidence of the assault by washing bed linens.

The families had gone to the Caribou Club that night, but Harrison left early, the warrant says. When the rest of the friends and family returned, the girl's mother said she went up to her daughter's room. The woman said she saw Harrison "lying next to her daughter with his shirt unbuttoned and his pants pulled down to his mid-thigh exposing himself," the warrant says.

She told police "she grabbed Harrison by the shirt and said, 'What the f--- are you doing?'" The suspect asked her where he was and acted confused before looking at the girl for a few minutes. The woman then "leaned into Harrison's ear and said, 'What the f--- are you looking at? You better get out of here now because I'm going to kill you.'"

The suspect reportedly apologized profusely and then left the room.

The mother later told investigators her daughter indicated Harrison had fondled her and ejaculated on her clothes. An emergency room doctor at Aspen Valley Hospital examined the girl, who told the doctor that the suspect was doing "weird things" and "rubbing against her."

The doctor also said a man from the residence had called the hospital before the girl arrived. The doctor "remembered him saying he heard someone else mention that Harrison had vagina, but could not be more specific."

The mother was told several times not to call police, according to the warrant. Harrison is part of a prominent family in Marin County, Calif., and the mother's ex-husband in the police report said he was "concerned about the social ramifications of this incident."

After the girl was then taken to the hospital, investigators went to the home to collect evidence. But the mother told police her ex-husband "had already stripped the bed and she seemed convinced that any evidence would be gone." The clothes the girl was wearing at the time had also been washed, the warrant says. In the bedroom, police found sheets stuffed into a pillow case in a corner of the room. The linens, plus a comforter and the mattress pad, were taken into evidence.

Harrison later told police he may have been drugged before he went out the night of the alleged attack. "And that might explain his lack of memory and might explain his actions, but clearly stated that wouldn't be an excuse, merely an explanation," the warrant says.

[Catherine Vincent]

13. Did the ex husband set this up?

It appears that way. God! This $%#@!!! was more concerned for the perp than his own daughter!

[Pachamama]

14. It makes one wonder...I just think this is so sick and I'm very concerned

for our community....Where I live is on the one hand a very well to do area full of a lot of "haves" and not many "have nots", but the one reason we are bothering to be here is because of the great schools and the "Mayberry" feeling....Everyone always talks about how they pride themselves on raising their children right and yet how can something like this happen?

For me the cover up is just as bad...I hope the prosecutors actually charge the ex-husband as well. I am also very concerned that with a good defense attorney, Mr. Harrison the perp, will go scott free....My hunch is since the actual "evidence" of any sexual activities may have been completely destroyed, that he will try and claim that he was drunk/drugged, came home to go to bed, went to check on "his" daughter but was too drunk to realize he had entered the wrong room, layed down to tuck his kid to bed and make sure she was alright and then had planned to go to bed, but was so drunk, he started to "undress" and passed out and can't remember what happened. In any event, I just think its awful. I am glad to see others also realize that the actions of the ex-husband are really horrendous.

[tyedyeto]

10. Worked for me n/t

[Conservativesux]

11. 50,000. bail for a flight risk perp? Seems an awful low amount to me.

Drunk or drugged makes no difference at all.

Do the crime, pay the time.

[Pachamama]

12. Obviously, someone forget to add an "0"...this is someone who

lives in an area where the average house is $3 Million ..... I was shocked too...Any bailsbond man would easily post bond for him based just on his zip code....And he probably has one friend left (well, maybe)...

[Bluerthanblue]

16. kudo's to the Mother bear-

many have been in her shoes and not had the ovaries, or strength to do as she did-
People don't often understand how often this happens, and Mom either cannot, or will not do what is right.

I think i need to get away from this place for awhile- there is so much pain on DU these days-
Its getting so hard to keep

[cally]

17. I hope the local police are not influenced to drop the charges

Kudos to the Mom for protecting her child. Now I'm wondering if I would recognize the person's name.

I hope your house is drying out quickly and that you can move back home soon. This last storm hit way too hard.

[Pachamama]

18. Hi Cally....

I don't think that the Aspen Police will drop charges. My understanding is he is being extradited to Colorado....

Meanwhile, his wife and family are probably names you would recognize...they own Woodlands Market. Stephen Harrison's wife filed for divorce almost less than 24 hours after this incident. Meanwhile, I have since found out that I do indeed not only know the victim, and the "father" of the victim, but the younger sibling of the victim is a friend, classmate and playmate of my daughters....

I am beyond freaked out...it was less than a month ago, before the holidays, that my little 5 year old was playing at BOTH of these families houses....I don't even know what to say I am so in shock. I do feel I need some more info because I the father of the victim is divorced from the mother (yet they have shared custody) and the father is someone I've only observed to being a concerned parent for his kids. I was surprised to hear he was vacationing with the ex-wife, and if anyone knows of the Caribou Club in Aspen (I do from my wilder single days), that isn't the place that parents with young children would/should be out hanging out at. Meanwhile, since the ex-wife is known to be someone who wants to take full custody of the kids...it suddenly dawned on me that "could it possible that the mother is the one who made these statements about the Dad because she wants him to lose custody?"

Seriously, I just feel this is one super effed up situation and my stomach still keeps churning that I know these people and my kids have been around them. I feel that there will be more details emerging and I'm trying real hard to reserve judgement. All I can think of is that little girl, her sibling and even the children of the perp....they are all victims and the community too because the most important trust of all has been broken. God, this is just so wrong..... :cry: