Former Pueblo sheriff's lieutenant sentenced to probation for sexual assault

A former Pueblo law enforcement officer was sentenced to six years of probation in a sexual assault case Thursday.

Diego Duran, 56, a former lieutenant for the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, pleaded guilty in May to one count of sexual assault in a plea deal signed by Deputy District Attorney Kelson Castain of the Fourth Judicial District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case.

In addition to six years of probation, Judge William Alexander ordered Duran to register as a sex offender and forbade him from viewing sexually explicit material on the internet. The judge also ordered him to have no contact with the victim, and, while he noted Duran did not appear to have ever indicated any interest in minors, ordered him to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18 unless otherwise recommended by the Pueblo probation department.

'I should have never agreed': Victim shares her story

In a statement to the court, the victim, an employee of the 10th Judicial District Attorney's office, stated the assault had a profound impact on her life, both personally and professionally.

She stated that before she joined the DA's office, she was a subordinate of Duran's at the sheriff's office. She eventually left the sheriff's office, she said, because she grew tired of Duran's "constant flirtation," and unprofessional behavior, such as constantly showing up at her crime scenes.

The victim stated that after she left the PCSO, Duran made multiple attempts to contact her by text or phone, to which she would respond saying she was busy with life, work, and family.

On Sept. 7, 2022, Duran eventually got the victim to agree to meet him for lunch, she recounted.

"I should have never agreed," she said. "I thought about canceling, but he texted me that he was outside the DA's office waiting for me, and it was too late to cancel then."

As she only had an hour for lunch, she picked a nearby burrito spot to eat. After finishing the meal, the victim recounted how when they went back to the truck, she buckled her seatbelt and froze when, to her horror, Duran reached over and unbuckled it.

Duran then began to touch her inappropriately, despite her saying several times that she "had to get back to work" and physically recoiling from his hands. She never consented, verbally or non-verbally, to Duran's unwanted advances.

"He just kept repeating, 'Can you help me out?" she recalled. Duran then drove her back to work as if nothing happened, she said.

It was at work that she broke down, she recounted. "I did not want to report because it would be a high-profile case, but I didn't want him to get away with it, either," she said.

A friend of hers convinced her to get a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) report conducted, but because she knew all the detectives and SANE nurses in Pueblo due to the nature of her work, she went to Canon City to make the report.

However, she said that while news agencies that covered the story did not report her name, due to the tight-knit nature of the Pueblo community, many people she worked with in law enforcement were able to identify her as the victim.

"I couldn't just be a normal victim. I couldn't have the privacy I wanted and needed to heal," she said.

Additionally, as a member of the DA's office, it became difficult to hear sexual assault cases, as they caused her to relive her own trauma, she said. She recounted struggling not to break down while listening to other victims' horror stories, and crying with her door shut while she listened to the recorded interviews and wrote reports.

Since then, while she did not ask, her supervisor has taken her off of sexual assault cases, she said.

"I am ashamed that you were a policeman and that you abused your power as a lieutenant," the victim said, addressing Duran directly. She stated she wished that she had the freedom to report his unprofessional behavior at an earlier point, and wished someone had warned her about Duran.

Duran claims he 'misread the signs,' prosecutor calls that 'disturbing'

Castain asked the judge to impose a lengthy probationary sentence. During the pre-sentence investigation, Castain said, Duran allegedly told an evaluator that he had simply "misread the signs."

"The fact that he is even now telling an evaluator that he misread the signs and thought that (the victim's) actions were a green light for him is disturbing," Castain said.

Joe Koncilja, an attorney representing Duran in the case, stated Duran was "not a monster or an animal," and said there was a "generational misperception" on Duran's part, as the victim did not expressly tell him to stop, attempt to flee the vehicle, or attempt to fight.

Koncilja acknowledged that this "misperception" was entirely the fault of his client, but stated that even after, Duran sincerely believed he could "formulate a relationship" with the victim, and had texted her afterward to ask if she was all right.

Koncilja stated that his client had paid dearly for his "mistake," including a loss of employment by the PCSO that led to financial hardship for his client.

Duran retired from the sheriff's office in January, PCSO spokesperson Gayle Perez previously told the Chieftain.

Koncilja also noted that Duran had no prior criminal history. He concluded that Duran offered his "profound apology" to the victim, but declined to make a statement in court.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Former Pueblo sheriff's lieutenant gets probation for sexual assault