A Vancouver Island man charged in a alleged group sexual assault made an appearance in a Denver, Colorado court Tuesday.
When or if the three additional suspects from British Columbia join him in court is still unknown.
More details are expected to be released in the investigation of Colby James Messer and his three friends, who allegedly were involved in the sexual assault of a 27-year-old woman from Denver on her birthday last November.
READ MORE: Four Vancouver Island men accused of sexually assaulting Denver woman
“It’s a set of circumstances, the nature of these allegations are incredibly disturbing even among people in our office who see disturbing things frequently,” Lynn Kimbrough, spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney’s Office, said.
“Charging a sexual assault isn’t all that unusual, unfortunately. But there are a number of things in this case that make it somewhat unusual.”
Messer, 30, was charged last week with six counts of sexual assault and released after posting a US$300,000 cash bond.
His passport has been surrendered, and he must remain in Denver and wear a GPS tracking device.
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According to the sworn affidavit of Denver Police Department Detective Steve Bishop, Messer met the victim on the night of November 14. The woman remembered drinking in a bar with Messer and two of the suspects, according to Bishop’s affidavit, but did not recall travelling to a hotel room.
“The victim stated that she woke in their hotel room and felt as if she had been sexually assaulted and stated that she did not consent,” reads Bishop’s affidavit for Messer’s arrest.
“This is a sexual assault not just that involves multiple suspects, but involves objects in a hotel room,” said Kimbrough.
(The full court documents, which are graphic in nature, can be viewed here)
Messer and the three men, allegedly in town to watch a Denver Broncos game, flew back to Vancouver on November 16.
Families of affluence
The victim reported the incident to Denver Police on the same day. After months of investigation and communication with the Vancouver Police Department, Messer was arrested when he returned to the United States on March 4 where he was planning to propose to his girlfriend in Las Vegas.
Denver Police won’t name the other three suspects, but a warrant has been issued for their arrests.
Global News has learned that all four men come from well-off families in Port Alberni, where they grew up a decade ago.
Messer received an MBA in Dubai, and is now a manager with a drywall contracting company in Victoria.
“I’m quite shocked to hear these allegations, actually,” said Richard Alexander, who worked with Messer before moving to Kelowna last year.
“I really don’t know what to think…the guy seemed very polite.”
Messer’s father, who appears to have posted the US$300,000 cash bond, is Jim Messer, who once served as chief operating officer of the Coulson Group of Companies, and General Manager of Alberni Operations for Western Forest Products. He hasn’t worked for the Coulson Group since 2014.
Messer’s lawyer for this case is Kenneth Eichner, one of Denver’s top lawyers and principal of The Eichner Law Firm.
Eichner declined to comment on the case.
Neither Messer nor the other three suspects, who have all deleted their social media profiles since Messer was arrested three weeks ago, have prior criminal records.
The three suspects now live in the Lower Mainland and Langford. None were at their residences when Global News attempted to contact them today, and one has allegedly flown to southeast Asia.
Messer’s second court appearance takes place tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. The victim’s identity is unknown.
“Her intention was to be celebrating, and instead she becomes a victim of this horrible crime,” said Kimbrough.
– With files from Yuliya Talmazan, CBS Denver and The Canadian Press
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