A Colorado police chief has been placed on administrative leave after his stepson and three men were accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in her home while she slept upstairs.
The city of Ouray announced Monday that Police Chief Jeff Wood will remain on leave “pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings against the alleged rape” during a May 2023 party thrown by Wood’s stepson.
The city did not explain the exact reason why Wood was asked to step down, but the move comes more than a week after a man unsuccessfully tried to suppress local newspaper reports of alleged crimes by stealing stacks of papers from his shelves, instead boosting the story to national attention.
The city previously said it had been monitoring the case and Wood’s family ties to it since Wood was first notified of the investigation in July 2023.
Wood did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Her stepson, Nate Dieffenderffer, 18, was arrested in December along with Gabriel Trujillo, 20, and Ashton Whittington, 18, with felony sexual assault, a case being handled by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Dieffenderffer is accused of starting an all-night gang-rape spree after a 17-year-old guest at a party he was throwing at Wood’s home passed out drunk.
The alleged rape took place at the home of Police Chief Jeff Wood during a party held by his stepson. City of Ouray County
The police chief’s stepson restrained her when she tried to fight back and scream before he and Trujillo dragged her into a bathroom and took turns violently abusing her, according to an arrest affidavit.
Whittington allegedly did not participate but did not intervene.
The next morning, the survivor wakes up naked and grabs a sweatshirt from a pile of clothes, which turns out to be Wood’s. His DNA turned up in subsequent investigations, but not in large enough amounts to reflect wrongdoing.
Accused rapist Nathan Dieffenderffer, then 17, was Wood’s stepson. Colorado Bureau of Investigation
According to the victim, the police chief was at home all the time, but slept through the hours of torture.
Wood told The Post last week that he “first noticed [the rape allegations] about two months after the incident allegedly took place.”
“I expect to be called as a witness at trial so I do not feel it would be appropriate to comment on the merits of the young woman’s allegations at this time,” Wood said in an emailed statement.
Hundreds of newspapers were stolen the morning the Ouray County Plaindealer ran a front-page story about the alleged rape. Ouray County Plaindealer
The allegations became widely known when a local restaurant owner stole hundreds of copies of the Ouray County Plaindealer on Jan. 18, the morning it ran a front-page story about the gruesome allegations.
Paul Choate, 41, accused the Plaindealer of trying to profit from the story and claimed on social media that he committed the robbery to protect the victim.
Shockingly, Choate does not appear to have any connection to the police department, Wood, his stepson or the three other men named in the criminal case.
The scandalous case has sparked calls from the community for Wood to resign.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
