When you think of out-of-control sheriffs, most of us think about David Clarke or Joe Arpaio. But the sheriff of a county in remote eastern Colorado may have outdone them both by a city mile. He now stands charged with molesting a special needs woman while he was supposed to be taking her to jail.
Tom Hanna is the sheriff of Sedgwick County, the northeasternmost county in Colorado. It’s a very rural county with only 2,400 people. The nearest city of any size is Sterling, almost an hour south. Denver is more than two-and-a-half hours south. In other words–this is a VERY remote part of Colorado.
So it should come as no surprise that a lot of eyebrows were hiked into eyebrows last Wednesday, when Hanna stood before a judge wearing the same prison jumpsuit and shackles that are usually worn by inmates arrested by his four-man department. He stands accused of one of the worst betrayals of the badge ever uncovered.
Watch coverage of this story from KMGH-TV in Denver here.
Earlier this month, a Sedgwick County deputy got suspicious when he saw his boss taking an inmate to jail in his personal truck–a blatant violation of department policy. Later, he noticed Hanna’s truck sitting at his house “for about 20 to 30 minutes,” according to an affidavit obtained by The Denver Post and KMGH. The deputy did some digging, and what he found prompted him to contact the local district attorney’s office, who opened a joint investigation with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
It turned out that while en route to taking a special needs woman to jail, Hanna detoured to his house. According to the affidavit, the woman told investigators that Hanna took off her handcuffs and offered her $60 for sex. Hanna digitally penetrated her, then engaged in sexual acts with her for five minutes despite her vehement protests. He then took her to the Logan County jail, which typically houses Sedgwick County inmates as well to ease the burden on the county’s tiny jail. He then put $20 in her commissary account–ostensibly to call her brother.
The woman has had developmental disabilities all of her life. She didn’t even realize she’d been raped at the time; when an investigator told her, she started throwing up. She now believes that Hanna took advantage of her in a sordid and despicable way.
When investigators interviewed Hanna, he said he wanted to talk with the woman in private about a criminal investigation. He claimed that he didn’t want anyone in the 1,500-person town to see him talking with the woman about sensitive information, but now admits he made a “poor decision.” However, investigators found evidence that Hanna’s actions were a lot more than just a “poor decision.” They discovered feminine hygiene products that the woman claimed Hanna had given her since she was on her period, as well as boxer shorts identical to the ones she said he’d worn.
Combined with jail logs and video evidence, investigators found enough evidence to arrest Hanna on Tuesday and charge him with sexual assault of an at-risk adult, sexual conduct with a correctional inmate, first-degree official misconduct, and soliciting a prostitute. At his initial appearance, Hanna asked for a lower bond, saying he wasn’t “a menace to the community” and was going through a divorce that tied up most of his money. He also pointed out that he had surrendered peacefully.
Due to a potential conflict of interest, the local district attorney asked Judge Michael Singer to let prosecutors from Arapahoe County in suburban Denver to take over the case. Assistant district attorney Mark Hulbert asked Singer to hold Hanna on $500,000 bond, citing the egregious breach of public trust. Singer split the difference, ordering him held on $250,000 bond. If he is released, he will be on GPS monitoring, and will be banned from contacting the victim or coming within 100 yards of the courthouse. That judge should be applauded for recognizing that a special needs woman is the victim here.
Hanna is currently being held in the Weld County jail, mainly for his protection; Logan County has a number of inmates from Sedgwick. If convicted on all charges, Hanna could spend the rest of his life in prison. If this is even half true, he should serve every minute of it. Taking advantage of a special needs person in this way is simply unacceptable, and anyone who does needs to be locked up for as long as legally possible–especially if the perp has a badge.
(featured image courtesy RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)
