The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Hearing set for Feb. 11
The Colorado Attorney General unveiled an expanded list of seven charges against Seventh Judicial District Attorney Myrl Serra Wednesday that included unlawful sexual contact, indecent exposure and criminal extortion.
Serra, who was appointed district attorney in 2006, was arrested by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation September 30 on suspicion of official misconduct, indecent exposure and unlawful sexual contact. Those charges were linked to just one woman, according to a report from the Denver Post.
Since then the charges against him have been amended to include one felony count of both unlawful sexual contact and criminal extortion. He is also facing one count of misdemeanor official misconduct; three misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure and a misdemeanor count of unlawful sexual contact. The CBI investigation also turned up two more alleged victims.
At least one of the three alleged victims worked in Serra’s Montrose office.
The former District Attorney appeared Wednesday before Mesa County District Judge David Bottger, who ordered the affidavit supporting the prosecution’s case unsealed. The judge also turned down a request from prosecutor First Assistant Attorney General Robert Shapiro to increase Serra’s bond from $5,000 to $50,000, according to media reports.
The affidavit should be available to the public Thursday, November 5, after court staff has a chance to redact the names of the victims in the case.
Judge Bottger approved a protection order that requires Serra to stay away from the alleged victims and the witnesses in the case.
The Seventh Judicial District Attorney’s office, which includes Gunnison County, has been taken over by the state Attorney General’s office while the case against Serra is being prosecuted.
Serra’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 11 in Montrose.
