At least two men accused of sexual assault in Ouray are expected to appear in court Thursday.
Gabriel Trujillo and Ashton Whittington are charged with sexual assault in connection to a May 14, 2023 incident that occurred at a Panoramic Heights home in Ouray, according to a heavily-redacted arrest affidavit.
There is a third suspect, according to a press release from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. That person was not named because he was a juvenile.
However, the Ouray County Plaindealer reported the third suspect was Nathan Dieffenderffer - the step-son of Ouray Police Chief Jeff Wood. Dieffenderffer is now an adult. He was arrested in Geary County, Kansas in December.
An unnamed girl, who was 17 years old at the time, attended Whittington's birthday party at the police chief's home, the 24-page arrest affidavit said.
Police Chief Jeff Wood is not accused of being involved in the assaults, according to the affidavit.
The Ouray Police Department released a statement last week that said in part:
"Due to the Police Chief's residence being involved in this reported incident, the City has been monitoring the developing case since it was first reported in May of 2023."
The three suspects and the girl were drinking alcohol together, according to the arrest affidavit.
The girl was cited saying she felt "super lightheaded" and "out of it" at several points in the affidavit, after having "two Jack Daniels seltzers and two shots of gin."
In one "electronic communication" with one of the suspects, the girl wrote, "I was definitely on something other than alcohol did u (sic) (redacted) have anything else there that could have ended up in my drink or something," the affidavit read.
The document then described a sexual assault occurring with the girl telling the accused assailant "to stop" and trying to push that person off.
The affidavit then described an additional assault on the same victim taking place in a bathroom.
"I remember really trying to yell so that someone would hear me and screaming because of how painful it was," the girl was quoted saying in the affidavit.
Three people "were upstairs in the same house, sleeping," according to the document.
All the suspects have posted bond and been released from jail, according to the Ouray County Plaindealer.
Trujillo and Whittington are expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Denver7 searched for Dieffenderffer's court date, but could not find one, likely because he was a minor at the time of the alleged incident.
Denver7 reached out to the Ouray Police Chief and the City of Ouray for comment, but we didn't hear back by the time of this publication.
