Judge gives prisoner permission to contact his children daily
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado – A Rifle man jailed in January over dozens of different criminal charges won permission on Tuesday to contact his two daughters, his wife and his girlfriend.
But the permission is valid only while Alfred Moreno is in jail.
Moreno, 31, is accused – in numerous cases – of charges that include domestic violence by a habitual offender, assault, failure to appear in court and violating restraining orders.
On Tuesday, 9th District Judge James Boyd ruled that Moreno can call his two daughters and their mother once a day.
But if the girls’ mother objects to a particular call for any reason, the judge ruled, she may cancel that day’s call.
The judge also gave Moreno permission to call his girlfriend, over the strenuous objections of Moreno’s wife.
“I love him, I’ve stood by him,” said Alecia Moreno of her jailed husband.
But if the defendant is permitted to continue his contacts with his girlfriend, she said, “I do not want any contact with him. I know it will not be healthy … for my girls, or for me. I don’t want to deal with the cheating any more.”
Prosecutor Anne Norrdin noted that the couple’s daughters had seen Moreno assault his wife.
“I think there is certainly the potential for witness intimidation” if contact is permitted with the daughters or their mother, Norrdin warned the judge.
At the suggestion of public defender Matthew Morriss, Moreno’s attorney, the judge modified protective orders in the case to permit Moreno to contact each woman once a day under normal supervision by jail staff.
But if the contact involves Moreno’s daughters, the judge ruled, it must take place in the presence of a social services caseworker, who is familiar with the cases and willing to be involved.
The judge decreed that the modification of protective orders is effective only while Moreno is in jail.
If Moreno is released on bond, the protective orders will revert to their original provisions, prohibiting him from contact with the children, their mother or the girlfriend.
Moreno, who is being held on a $99,000 bond, is due in court again on Feb. 28.
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