A Colorado newspaper has slammed a thief that was behind the mysterious disappearance of hundreds of copies of its paper on the day it broke a story about the town’s police chief’s son being accused of violently raping a 17-year-old girl.
Ouray Police Chief Jeff Wood’s stepson Nate Dieffenderffer, alongside co-defendants Gabriel Trujillo and Ashton Whittington, has been charged with raping a girl in the family’s home while the cop was asleep.
The Ouray Plaindealer was the first outlet to report the arrest. But on the same day it broke the story, hundreds of copies of the paper were stolen from around town.
Paul Choate, 41, was named as the thief by the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office on Monday after he turned himself into police.
In a statement released on Monday, the newspaper said that the man harbored a long-time ‘grudge’ against the publication – and because he was not apologetic for his actions, they have decided to press charges.
Choate was criticized by the journalists for trying to suppress the ‘public’s right to knowledge and the freedom of the press.’
Paul Choate, 41, has been named as the thief by The Ouray County Sheriff’s Office on Monday after he turned himself into police
The statement read: ‘We understand the person who took the newspapers was upset about the story on the sexual assault that allegedly happened at the Ouray police chief’s house.
‘We want to be transparent with you about how and why we reported this story, even if you disagree with our decision to do so.’
Choate told the paper he did what he did to protect the victim in the case. But he also criticised other stories written about local issues.
The paper said: ‘Simply put, Paul Choate had a grudge against the Plaindealer before we wrote this story.
‘And when we spoke with him about the newspaper theft, he alternated between saying he was sorry and lashing out against us for doing our jobs. We considered not reporting his name, for fear of further harm to those involved in the case.
‘But Paul Choate removed that option when he called the largest TV station in Colorado and confessed, and a journalist at that outlet announced he had contacted them and they would report the name after he was cited.
‘Paul Choate’s decision to steal the newspapers created a situation where he has caused more harm.
‘If Paul Choate had seemed truly apologetic, we would have not pursued charges. The fact remains – he tried to prevent others from reading a story about a serious crime reported in Ouray County.
‘It backfired, and now that story has spread much farther than it would have, had he not tried to suppress the public’s right to know and the freedom of the press.’
Choate revealed he was the culprit in Facebook post on Sunday
Ouray Police Chief Jeff Wood’s stepson Nate Dieffenderffer (left) was charged alongside co-defendants Gabriel Trujillo and Ashton Whittington in a shocking rape case
Choate was issued a summons on January 20 for petty theft, and ‘is not a member or relative of local law enforcement and not associated with the defendants in the recent reported sexual assault,’ according to the Sherriff’s department.
The papers were removed from around the town on Thursday morning.
Initially the paper believed it was being silenced in an attempt to suppress the story.
‘If you hoped to silence or intimidate us, you failed miserably. We’ll find out who did this. And another press run is imminent,’ co-publisher Mike Wiggins wrote on X.
However, Choate revealed he was the culprit in Facebook post on Sunday.
‘I want the public to know that I was the culprit of the Ouray Plaindealer theft’ Choate posted on his account.
‘I turned myself in the Sheriffs office and returned the papers to the Plaindealer.
He added: ‘I offered to compensate for any damages I caused.’
In a following post on Monday Choate explained that ‘on the evening of January 18, I became aware of an article being released the next morning.’
‘My motivation behind this is to bring to light that no details in any victims statements and interviews should be posted without their consent.
‘Specifically, I was appalled by the graphic details reported; I would never want this information to come out about someone I cherish.
‘It was irresponsible to publish this without the consent of the victim and without links to resources.’
He added: ‘I want to highlight that the first article published in the January 4th-10th edition of the newspaper provided sufficient and well written information about the case without delving into explicit details and revictimize the girl involved.’
The newspaper report detailed graphic sexual assault allegations contained in Colorado Bureau of Investigation affidavit for arrests in the case.
Hours after Colorado’s published a story about the alleged violent sexual assault of a teen girl at the police chief’s house, hundreds of copies of the paper were stolen out of nearly every newspaper rack in the county. Pictured: Ouray County Plaindealer Newspaper rack
The Ouray County Plaindealer was the first to report the arrests. Nearly every copy of the issue was stolen from racks around Ouray County following the report
The 17-year-old accuser told investigators that she screamed and fought as she was was raped at least three times in a bedroom and bathroom by two different people on May 14, 2023.
At the time of the alleged assault, Wittington had just turned 18 and they were celebrating his birthday, while Trujillo was 19 and Dieffenderffer was days away from turning 18.
The accuser described joining the three males Dieffenderffer’s home and drinking some hard seltzer and gin, before passing out on a bed in the home.
She said she awoke to find her clothes removed and Dieffenderffer on top of her, having sex with her. She said she tried to fight back but was restrained.
She said that one of the male suspects was laughing, but that another was sitting in a chair looking ‘horrified’, but failed to help her.
Subsequently, the accuser said she was taken across the hallway to a bathroom and raped by two different people.
‘I remember really trying to yell so that someone would hear me and screaming because of how painful it was,’ she told investigators.
She said she passed in and out of consciousness and chipped a tooth on the floor of the bathroom as her head was held down.
The accuser said when she regained consciousness, she fled the home at around 4.30am, but was unable to find her clothes, and grabbed a sweatshirt from a pile of laundry.
The sweatshirt was later identified as belonging to Police Chief Wood, who has not been charged in the case or accused of wrongdoing.
After contacting a friend, the accuser went to the hospital on the same day for a sexual assault examination, in which evidence was gathered.
An investigator with the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office took an initial report at the hospital, but the case was later referred to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, presumably to eliminate conflicts of interest.
Investigators say that DNA evidence from a vaginal swab matched Trujillo, and Dieffenderffer matched genetic material recovered from a bite mark.
Trujillo spoke with investigators and said he and Dieffenderffer had a prior consensual ‘three-way’ sexual relationship, according to the affidavit.
He claimed that he was just a ‘witness’ to the events of May 14, saying Dieffenderffer and the accuser went to the bathroom and came out 10 minutes later fully clothed ‘and everything seemed fine.’
He further called the teen girl a ‘pathological liar’ and someone who seeks attention, according to the report.