BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - A jury has acquitted a Colorado mental health worker who was accused of failing to report sexual assault accusations against a highly regarded football recruit.
Marilyn Lori, 47, testified that the victim did not tell her enough about the alleged incident to report it to authorities. She was found not guilty on Wednesday by a Boulder County jury of failure to report suspected child abuse.
James Merson, Lori’s defense attorney, did not return requests for comment, the Daily Camera reported.
“As in every trial, we appreciate the jury’s service and respect their verdict,” said Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty in a statement.
“The victim is to be commended for having the courage and strength to go through this process,” Dougherty said. “The significant responsibilities of a mandatory reporter are particularly important and impactful to the young people in our community.”
Lori was embedded at the victim’s high school in 2018 through Mental Health Partners and was a mandatory reporter.
The girl on Tuesday testified that she told Lori about the football player inappropriately touched her on a party bus following homecoming in 2018.
Lori testified she met the student, then 16, in October 2018. “I had saw her crying and waiting so I approached her several times,” Lori said. “She was very resistant, she did not want to talk to me.”
Lori said the student agreed to speak with her about the incident but only gave “very vague details.”
“She was shut down a lot of the time she was speaking to me,” Lori said. “I think it was very hard for her to share.”
Lori said the student only referenced a “conflict” that occurred with a male student at the school.
“She did not give me any details about what that conflict was,” Lori said, later adding, “She was incredibly vague about what happened with the peer.”
Lori said that with the limited information she was given, she did not feel as if she could ethically break the victim’s confidentiality.
The victim told a different guidance counselor at the school about the incident about a year later, who then reported it to police. Police then arrested and charged the football player on three counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault and five counts of unlawful sexual contact. His attorney, Lara Baker, has not returned an inquiry seeking comment.
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