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Meeting about sexual predator set in Rifle

John Colson
Post Independent
Aspen, CO Colorado

RIFLE, Colo. – A sexually violent predator has moved into the area, according to the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, and the public can learn more about the matter at a meeting Thursday at the county sheriff’s annex, adjacent to the county airport near Rifle.

The community notification meeting is set for 6-8 p.m. The sheriff’s annex is located at 0106 County Road 333A, across from the main entrance to the Garfield County Regional Airport.

Department spokeswoman Tanny McGinnis declined to release any further information about the individual involved, what his crime or crimes had been, or what community he had moved into.



By midday Wednesday, a subsequent message had been issued by Roaring Fork School District superintendent Judy Haptonstall, cautioning teachers and school staff.

“We were advised that bus drivers should have a copy of his picture on buses as soon as possible, as rural bus drop-offs have been targets for this person in the past,” Haptonstall said in her message.




Haptonstall’s message carried a description of the man’s car and indicated that the district had been issued a photo of the man, although Haptonstall declined to discuss the matter further.

According to McGinnis, information at the meeting will include details of the crimes committed by the man, the sentence he served, his address, and cautionary advice against “vigilantism” and the responsibilities of area residents with regard to his presence in the community.

McGinnis would not divulge any information about where the man is now located, but said the matter will be discussed by a panel of law enforcement officials and others, and that the meeting “can affect every community, every municipality in the county, and the unincorporated areas.”

A DVD containing the information disseminated at the meeting in Rifle will be available from the sheriff’s office for one week following the meeting, a time limit that McGinnis said comes straight out of the state law that requires the sheriff to notify the community.

Anyone interested in getting a copy of the DVD should sent McGinnis an e-mail at tmcginnis@garcosheriff.com.

The meeting will be “televised locally,” McGinnis said, meaning it will be available to cable subscribers in Rifle.

jcolson@postindependent.com

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