A Rifle man is looking at the possibility of life in prison after the District Attorney’s Office filed 169 felony counts against him earlier this week, alleging he repeatedly raped a relative for more than two years, according to court documents.

The defendant, 43, (whose name is not being used to protect the identity of the alleged intra-family victims in the case) could be sentenced to life in prison if he’s convicted of just one of the felony counts filed against him Monday in Pitkin County District Court, according to Colorado sentencing guidelines.

The man posted a $250,000 surety bond — which required about $37,000 in nonrefundable cash to a bail bondsman — after his initial arrest last month, and he remained out of jail as of Friday. He appeared Monday in Pitkin County District Court, though his advisement on the 169 charges was postponed until Jan. 18.

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He is charged with 30 counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust constituting a pattern of abuse, each of which is punishable by 10 to 32 years to life in prison. He also faces 83 counts of aggravated incest, each of which is punishable by 4 to 12 years to life in prison, and 53 counts of sexual assault, which can add 2 to 6 years to life in prison for each charge. Finally, he was charged with one felony count of second-degree assault and one misdemeanor count of third-degree assault.

Scott Troxell, the man’s public defender, did not return an email message Friday seeking comment on the case.

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The victim in the case, whose age was redacted from court documents provided to The Aspen Times, first reported the abuse to Rifle police in late October, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed last month in Pitkin County District Court. Pitkin County authorities were notified by a Rifle police investigator when it became apparent that some of the abuse occurred here, the warrant states.

The abuse began in February 2019 in Snowmass, soon after the victim moved to Colorado the previous June, and continued after the man moved to Rifle in April 2020. The last incident occurred Oct. 9 in Rifle, according to the affidavit.

Each charge filed is attached to a different date, and court documents detail 83 separate incidents of rape and at least two incidents of physical assault. The victim kept a record of the abuse on a cellphone application.

“(The victim) also mentioned recording the assaults contemporaneously,” according to the affidavit.

jauslander@aspentimes.com