By Pierrette J. Shields
Longmont Times-Call
September 24, 2009
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=18256
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| Boda |
LONGMONT — Police on Wednesday arrested a former Longmont man who was working as a Fort Collins high school counselor on suspicion of sexually assaulting boys while he worked at a Longmont church.
Greeley officers on Wednesday arrested Bradley Boda, 39, of Berthoud on suspicion of two counts of sexual assault on a child, two counts of unlawful sexual contact, two counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, three counts of enticement of a child, and two counts of indecent exposure. He was being held Wednesday in the Boulder County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
Police found him at his parents’ Greeley home after he failed to report to work, said Longmont Police Cmdr. Tim Lewis.
Police believe Boda used his positions as church youth director and volunteer at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Longmont to sexually assault boys as young as 11, according to Boda’s arrest warrant affidavit.
Longmont police began the investigation in November 2008 when a woman reported that she believed Boda had inappropriate contact with children when he was a church worker.
“Many of the victims are adults and out of state now, and we had to track them down,” Lewis said.
After detectives spoke with a man who was identified as the victim in the initial report, the Longmont police sent out a letter to current and former church members asking for information about a former church worker who might have had inappropriate relationships with children.
The letter netted response after response from parents and from adults who attended the church as children.
Some told the investigator that Boda was a friend and that they never saw him do anything inappropriate. Several said they’d heard rumors about Boda “molesting children” but had no firsthand information.
Others told detectives that Boda coaxed children to strip and participated in sexual acts with them, showed them pornographic videos and magazines, or watched them in sexual situations with other children or teens.
One man said he engaged in a consensual sexual relationship with Boda for about a year when he was 13. He said Boda seemed to lose interest in him when he started high school and began dating a girl, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Another man said he lived near Boda when he was 13 and the two had a sexual relationship that lasted for four years.
According to police, church officials confirmed Boda volunteered or worked at the church from 1991 to 2004. He taught confirmation classes from 1995 to 2001. He was also youth director and managed about 20 children at a time during church activities, according to Lewis and Boda’s arrest warrant.
Christ Our Savior Pastor John Thieme said he is working with his congregation to help them deal with Boda’s arrest and the accusations against him.
“I can tell you it is a sad day for us here,” Thieme said. “We are cooperating fully with the investigation, and anyone else who is affected, we strongly encourage them to contact the Longmont Police Department and cooperate with the investigation.”
He said on Wednesday that several years ago the church instituted background checks and a four-page “youth protection policy.” As part of the policy, volunteers and staff members are told they should never be alone with a juvenile and cannot be behind closed doors with them.
“The safety and well-being of our young people is important to us,” he said.
He is seeking advice from experts who can help him decide the next steps he should take to lead the organization through this crisis, Thieme said.
“It is too soon for me to lay out definitive plans,” he said, adding he is worried that “these kinds of events stir up memories for people who were hurt long ago in a very different place” and he would like to address their needs, as well.
Some of Boda’s arrest charges stem from an incident at Longmont United Hospital, where Boda worked as an X-ray technician in 1997, in which police believe he tried to coax a teenage patient into a sexual encounter.
Longmont police suspect there may be other victims because of Boda’s access to children. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Longmont Detective Sandie Jones at 303-651-8523.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or pshields@times-call.com.
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