Richard L. Riley. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Hello court watchers,
This is John Ensslin, legal affairs reporter for the Gazette.
This afternoon, I’ll be live blogging from the trial of Richard L. Riley, the parole officer accused of sexually assaulting a female parolee.
The woman who brought the allegations against Riley is on the witness stand.
The woman claims she had sex with Riley twice, once at her Colorado Springs apartment and later as a Denver motel.
Riley’s lawyers say the incidents never happened.
The Gazette, which normally does not identify alleged sex assault victims, is withholding her identity.
Click here for a story from August, when the woman testified at Riley’s first trial. That trial ended in a mistrial.
Prosecutor Jennifer Viehman is asking the woman about the incident at her home.
Viehman asks if the woman ever said no to the sex.
No, she replies.
“Why not?” the prosecutor asked
“Cause I was scared that I’d go back to prison,” she replied. “And at the time, I didn’t want to ruin his career. I felt sorry for him.”
“He, in my view, was the best parole officer I’d ever had…and I liked him.”
Viehman asks why the woman eventually came forward with her allegations.
“I couldn’t live with the guilt anymore,” she said.
“Were you trying to get out of a hot U.A. (a urine nalysis that detected drugs or alcohol, which could have resulted in a revoked parole)
“No” the woman answers, covering her eyes and weeping.
“Has this been a difficult process for you?” Viehman asks.
“Yes,” the woman replies.
The prosecution has finished questioning the woman, who has been on the witness stand most of the day.
The court has taken a 10 minute break. When we resume, Riley’s lawyers will have a chance to cross examine the woman.
Gregory Maceau. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
We’re back.
Defense attorney Gregory Maceau is cross-examing the woman about her criminal history.
She admits to experimenting with drugs by age 15 and getting her first felony conviction in 1994.
She said she can’t remember everything from that period.
“I was a full-blown drug addict at the time,” she says.
Maceau also asked about other charges including false reporting and vehicular assault on a police officer.
“You ran over the officer’s foot while trying to avoid arrest?” Maceau asks.
“Yes,” the woman sobs.
Maceau asks why she didn’t tell someone about her situation with Riley, specifically an 83-year-old former police officer whom she had befriended.
“You could have gone to him?” Maceau asks.
“Why would I do that?” she replies.
“Well, you claimed you were trapped,” he says.
“I didn’t know who to trust,” she says.
Maceau asks about the alleged incident at the Denver motel.
He asks why, if Riley’s appearence at her workplace in Denver that day was a surprise, would he arrange to get a motel?
“Your guess is as good as mine sir,” she replies.
Then why did she go? Maceau asks.
“He’s my parole officer. I do what he tells me to” she replies.
Maceau asks about the sex at the motel.
“You’re reciprocating. You’re as passionate as he is? the lawyer asks.
Yes, she replied.
Maceau asks if she wanted to have sex that day.
“I was torn,” she replies. “Because I didn’t, but I did,” she answers.
Maceau asks if she previously testified that “You wanted to prove to him that you weren’t wearing a wire, so you took all your clothes off?”
Yes, that sounds right, she says.
The woman has asked for a break.
I’ll end this live blog segment here so I can check on the other two trials also underway.
