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Pleas delayed in sex assault cases

Eben Harrell
Pitkin County sheriff's deputy Jill Costigan handcuffs Shaun Van Dyke outside district court Monday. Van Dyke, accused of sexual assault on a teenager, delayed entering a formal plea in the case. Aspen Times photo/Mark Fox.
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Two men charged in separate incidents of sexual assault on teenage girls in Pitkin County delayed entering formal pleas in District Court Monday. Both are waiting for test results related to their cases.Shaun Van Dyke, 24, of Snowmass Village, is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl he met while working at the Aspen Recreation Center. Van Dyke’s attorney, John Van Ness, asked to delay arraignment until April 18, by which time a Grand Junction psychologist can perform a sexual offender evaluation.

“It’s a psychological profile that determines the risk of offending or re-offending,” Van Ness said. “We can’t determine what we’ll do until that’s done. It might have an influence on a plea bargain, if that’s what we decide.”Before his arrest, Van Dyke was a part-time rink operator at the ARC, handling such duties as sharpening skates, running the Zamboni and teaching skating lessons. He was arrested after the mother of the alleged victim reported that Van Dyke was “having an affair” with her daughter.

In a separate case, Angel Montanez-Marioni, 20, who is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in a remote area outside Carbondale last summer, also postponed his arraignment until April 18. The defense is waiting for results on a DNA test from a condom allegedly used in the assault.On July 24, 2004, Montanez-Marioni allegedly pressured the teenager to have intercourse in a clearing about 4.5 miles east of the intersection of Prince Creek Road and Highway 133. He was arrested in Rifle last January after a five-month search.



A week after the alleged assault, the mother of the girl turned in a used condom to police she said was used by Montanez-Marioni. Montanez-Marioni’s Edwards-based attorney, Anthony Arguello, said DNA results from the condom are “the big evidence right now in this case.””He’s saying he didn’t do it. We’re waiting for DNA results and until they come back we are not ready to plead guilty or not guilty or accept an offer,” Arguello said.Eben Harrell’s e-mail address is eharrell@aspentimes.com