Accused Carbondale child molester headed for trial in November
Post Independent Staff
GLENWOOD SPRINGS — A 54-year-old Carbondale man accused of sexually molesting at least two young girls, repeatedly and over a period of several years, is headed for trial in November following a judge’s ruling on Thursday.
Gustavo Flores Rosario was arrested in April after Carbondale police acted on reports from local residents that Rosario had been molesting young girls in the neighborhood where he was living, near the homes of the girls.
Rosario, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant filed by the Carbondale Police Department, was said to be the “Godfather” to one the younger of his two alleged victims, who according to court documents was born in 1999. The other alleged victim reportedly was born in 1994.
The alleged molestations are believed to have taken place starting as much as eight years ago, and to have continued until some time in 2010, according to court documents.
The investigation began when one of the victims, now 18 years old, reported to authorities that she had been sexually assaulted by Rosario when she was 10 or 12 years old.
As police investigated her story, she told them of a 13-year-old girl, a friend of hers, whom she believed also had been molested by Rosario.
The investigation included interviews with the two alleged victims, and a “pretext” telephone call, placed by the younger victim to Rosario, which was monitored and taped by police.
During the course of the investigation, police reportedly learned that Rosario went by numerous aliases, including Arturo Sanchez, Arturo Flores, and Gustavo Flores Ramirez, and that he had once been deported from the U.S. after a conviction of domestic violence.
Rosario faces six counts of sexual assault on a child age 15 or less, a class three felony, and attempted sexual intercourse involving the use of intimidation to “overcome the victim’s will,” a class five felony, according to court documents.
If convicted on all counts, and sentenced to serve his prison terms consecutively, Rosario could be facing up to 63 years in prison — 12 years apiece for five class-three felony counts, and three years for the class five count.
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