Colorado Senate Candidate Ken Buck Faces Controversy Over Rape Case
Sandra Fish
Correspondent
Posted:
10/12/10
Colorado GOP Senate candidate Ken Buck, the Weld County district attorney, is facing criticism from a liberal group for not prosecuting an acquaintance-rape complaint five years ago, when he told The Greeley Tribune that a jury might conclude that "this is a case of buyer's remorse."
The Colorado Independent reported the case Monday in the first of three parts. On Tuesday, the progressive online news site published a transcript of a call the accuser made to the man allegedly involved at the request of police. In that recorded call, the man acknowledged the couple hadn't had consensual sex, according to the transcript obtained by the site. The Colorado Independent also said it interviewed the woman.
The Colorado Independent reported the case Monday in the first of three parts. On Tuesday, the progressive online news site published a transcript of a call the accuser made to the man allegedly involved at the request of police. In that recorded call, the man acknowledged the couple hadn't had consensual sex, according to the transcript obtained by the site. The Colorado Independent also said it interviewed the woman.
Buck is challenging Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, who was appointed to office in January 2009 after Sen. Ken Salazar was appointed Interior secretary.
Buck's campaign spokesman, Owen Loftus, noted that the Boulder County District Attorney's Office reviewed the facts of the case and agreed with Buck's decision not to file charges. Buck sent the files to Boulder for a second review."The fact is you could not get a jury to prosecute this man," Loftus said.
Loftus said ProgressNow Colorado, a group that advocates for Democratic candidates, has been pushing the story to mainstream media outlets. Denver's Fox News station and the Associated Press have followed the Colorado Independent's story.
A book published earlier this year about Democrats' takeover of Colorado politics noted ties between ProgressNow and the Colorado Independent, part of the larger American Independent Media group. (Disclosure: I worked for what is now the Colorado Independent in its first year of operation, 2006-07.)
"This organization was developed to smear Republicans," Loftus said of ProgressNow.
The 2005 case involved a then-21-year-old Greeley college student who invited a former boyfriend to her apartment. She was drunk, and the man allegedly ended up having sex with her as she passed in and out of consciousness, telling him "no" several times, according to the Colorado Independent and police reports. In the telephone transcript released Tuesday, the man acknowledged those circumstances when questioned by the woman.
When Buck refused to file charges and take the case to trial, the woman met with the prosecutor and recorded the conversation without Buck's knowledge, according to the Colorado Independent's story.
"This organization was developed to smear Republicans," Loftus said of ProgressNow.
The 2005 case involved a then-21-year-old Greeley college student who invited a former boyfriend to her apartment. She was drunk, and the man allegedly ended up having sex with her as she passed in and out of consciousness, telling him "no" several times, according to the Colorado Independent and police reports. In the telephone transcript released Tuesday, the man acknowledged those circumstances when questioned by the woman.
When Buck refused to file charges and take the case to trial, the woman met with the prosecutor and recorded the conversation without Buck's knowledge, according to the Colorado Independent's story.
"It would appear to me and it appears to others that you invited him over to have sex with him," Buck told the woman.
Buck also brought up the woman's prior pregnancy by the man she accused when the two had a relationship.
"You have, you have had HIS [emphasis in the transcript] baby, and you had an abortion," Buck said.
The woman countered that she'd had a miscarriage, though she and the man had discussed an abortion.
Abortion is an issue in the close race between Buck and Bennet. Through last Thursday, NARAL Pro-Choice America had spent $20,868 on Bennet's behalf, while the National Right to Life Political Action Committee had spent $39,622 on Buck's behalf. The Bennet campaign has run an ad attacking Buck on reproductive health issues. ProgressNow and other groups have complained about Buck's position on abortion and other women's issues.
Buck campaigns on an anti-abortion plank, opposing abortion in cases of rape and incest. During his primary against former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, Buck also said he supported a "personhood" ballot initiative that supporters acknowledge would outlaw many forms of birth control in addition to abortion. During a Monday debate, he said he is no longer taking a position on that initiative or others on the Colorado ballot.
During the primary, he also jokingly told a crowd that they should vote for him because "I do not wear high heels." Norton later used the remark in campaign ads against him. Buck narrowly won the primary, in which he billed himself as an anti-establishment candidate.
During the primary, he also jokingly told a crowd that they should vote for him because "I do not wear high heels." Norton later used the remark in campaign ads against him. Buck narrowly won the primary, in which he billed himself as an anti-establishment candidate.