Publish Date: 1/24/2007
Academy director could face additional charges
Vic Vela
The Daily Record
The Royal Gorge Academy official facing a felony false imprisonment charge as well as assault and reckless endangerment allegations will have to wait a while to find out if additional counts will be filed.
Meanwhile, an affidavit indicates Academy staff members interviewed by investigators offer different takes on the official?s actions.
Randall Hinton of Cañon City, 32, appeared in Fremont County District Court today, his second appearance since being arrested Jan. 9 following a Cañon City Police Department investigation that originated in December.
Hinton is project supervisor for the Academy, a school for troubled teenagers.
Judge David Thorson granted Deputy District Attorney Thom LeDoux additional time today to file new charges, if any, against Hinton. Hinton?s attorney, Michael Gillick, said
LeDoux was ?swamped? and that he had no issue with the continuance. An affidavit indicates the CCPD investigation that began Dec. 30 of last year was prompted by a complaint by
Patty Pacheco, an executive secretary at the school, who said ?she cannot deal with the way the students are treated by Hinton any longer,? according to a report by an investigating officer who interviewed her.
The affidavit reads the secretary told the initial investigating officer that a new, 17-year female student, who had run away from the school on just her second day before being returned the following day, was made to
?lie face down on the floor, arms to her side and palms up for hours? as punishment.
Pacheco indicated the girl was having her period at the time she was on the ground, according to the officer.
The affidavit reads the girl ?wanted to change her pants, and Hinton told her no.?
However, Gillick said following today?s hearing that another employee, Holly Simpson, a former police officer, said the girl was able to use the restroom, and Simpson accompanied her on restroom visits.
Gillick also contends staff members interviewed by police were ?not present during the entire incident.?
?Those in the know clearly understand there was no inappropriate action by Randall Hinton,? said Gillick in an interview following today?s hearing.
However, the affidavit indicates prior alleged incidents concerning Hinton have concerned staff members.
Pacheco recalled a May 2006 incident where she saw a
male student emerge from a meeting with Hinton with a black eye, ?which he didn?t have before he went up,? according to the report.
The affidavit also reports another staff member,
Ryan Robley, said he once witnessed Hinton grab a male student ?by the back of his head and smacked his face against the floor a couple of times,? causing the student to bleed from his mouth. However, both Pacheco and Robley had positive comments about Hinton, aside from the alleged abuse. The affidavit reads Pacheco thought Hinton was an ?awesome? boss while Robley felt Hinton was
?a good man, but that he may have an anger problem.? :rofl:
In spite of the allegations being levied against Hinton, two parents of students at the school, including the parent of the girl, were sympathetic toward Hinton. The affidavit indicates that the girl?s mother said her daughter ?can be manipulative and was a difficult child.? Also, the father of another female student said ?kids that go to that school have problems, they lie, are deceiving, on drugs and have other problems.?
In fact, the affidavit reads the girl whom Hinton allegedly forced face-down on the floor would repeatedly
hit herself in the head with a stapler prior to the alleged abuse. [ :question:
Kids have access to staplers at a WWASP facility?]The affidavit also indicates that Academy Vice President
Brian Lemons had been hesitant in providing copies of school policies for investigating officers and that he needed to consult with the school?s attorney before complying with requests for such documents. However, Gillick said school officials have been compliant with officers? requests.
Hinton?s next scheduled court appearance will be
11:15 am. March 7. Vic Vela can be reached at
[email protected].
