Colorado town's newspapers stolen after story reveals rape allegations at police chief's home: Report

Almost every copy of a small-town Colorado newspaper was stolen from the racks on the very same day the Ouray County Plaindealer put out a story about charges being brought after rape allegations. The sexual assault reportedly took place during an underage drinking party at the police chief's home while he was asleep, according to the Associated Press.

Mike Wiggins — who is a co-publisher with the Ouray County Plaindealer — took to X after the newspapers were stolen, writing: "Someone didn't like this edition of @ocplaindealer. (Guess which article.) So they stole nearly every newspaper out of our racks in Ouray County. If you hoped to silence or intimidate us, you failed miserably. We'll find out who did this. And another press run is imminent."

The newspaper shared the story on social media and made it available to non-paying subscribers. The story describes how felony sexual assault charges have been filed against three men, including a relative of the police chief. The incident occurred in May 2023. Drugs and alcohol were present, according to the report.

The suspects are 17, 18, and 19 respectively. The individual who reported the rape is also 17 years old.

After the newspapers were stolen, the publication released a statement, writing: "We are overwhelmed by your generous support. We had no idea how many of you would come forward and offer to help us fund another press run of newspapers after our edition was stolen from all but one newspaper rack in Ouray County."

"The papers are back out there, again, and we have received an incredible amount of interest in the story about the papers being stolen."

"We now know the community cares just as much as we do about ensuring the freedom of the press is alive and well, and they support our ability to exercise the First Amendment and keep them informed."

The publication went on to note that a suspect had been identified and cited by local law enforcement. They added that the identity of the suspect would not be released until a citation had been issued. The suspect apparently returned a garbage bag full of newspapers "to the Plaindealer office on Thursday night and confessed to taking them. Investigators have asked us not to give more details until their work is completely finished."

"The suspect in this matter is unrelated to any of the defendants in the alleged sex assault case, and unrelated to any law enforcement, including the Ouray Police chief and his department," the publication added.

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