Police in Colorado accused a 43-year-old man of drugging and sexually assaulting a youngster for a year after the two met at a bus stop.
Suspect Jason Brown, 41 at the time, allegedly groomed the minor immediately after the encounter, engaging in in-person meetings and more than 1,000 phone calls with the victim, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, which reportedly conducted a three-month investigation into Brown’s alleged criminal activities.
The alleged offense occurred between 2022 and 2023. “The investigation found that Brown met the victim at a bus stop in Silverthorne,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release after Brown was arrested. “Over the next year, Brown cultivated a relationship by spending time with the juvenile, making over 1,000 phone calls to them; providing them with alcohol, cocaine, and ketamine; and assaulting them.”
One of the charges against Brown states that at one time, the 43-year-old gave the youngster ketamine “to the extent that they did not know what was happening, and in this state… had sexual intercourse with them.” He faces three counts of criminal assault, attempting to influence a public worker, and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
During the July investigation, investigators cross-referenced the victim’s allegation with witness interviews, phone records, and other evidence before issuing a warrant for Brown’s arrest. On October 2, authorities came at his home in the woods and took him into arrest.
The suspect has been freed on a $15,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on November 6 at 1:30 p.m. Police body camera footage shows the alleged predator, dressed in a white tank top and pajama bottoms, being handcuffed by cops.
“This is a sobering warning that predators continue to target our children in Summit County. “I want to thank the dedicated detectives and deputies who worked tirelessly to build this case, which resulted in a significant arrest,” Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons stated.
In March, the jury trial of Christopher Tedstone, 43, began in Pitkin County. Tedstone faces three felony counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust for allegedly grooming and molesting two children at the Basalt area daycare center Growing Years School. The defendant worked as a supervisor from December 2019 to July 2022.
A conviction could place Tedstone in prison for four to twelve years and a $750,000 fine. According to District Attorney Virginia Sorrell, the court proceeding will contain testimony from one of the children who were allegedly sexually assaulted and inappropriately touched, rather than DNA evidence linking the defendant to the crime.