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	Former Fort Collins Pastor Accused of Sexual Assaults By Deborah Frazier Rocky Mountain News [Fort Collins CO] March 14, 2006 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4540032,00.html FORT COLLINS - A Catholic priest removed from his large parish three years ago assaulted two boys and one young man over a period of several years, according to an arrest affidavit released Monday. The Rev. Timothy Evans, 43, first assaulted a parishioner's son at Spirit of Christ Church in Arvada in 1996, according to the affidavit. Evans then moved to the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Fort Collins in 1998 where, the affidavit says, he assaulted another boy in 1999 and a young man in 2000. None of the assaults was reported to the archdiocese or police until 2002. Evans was removed from his duties at the Fort Collins parish that year. "We removed Father Evans from the ministry upon first hearing of the allegations," said Jeanette DeMelo, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Denver. Details of the alleged assaults were made available Monday, when the affidavit, which had been sealed as part of a gag order, was released to the public. Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys could comment on the case because of the gag order, in which a judge has barred all parties from discussing the allegations. Evans has been charged with sexual assault on a child by a person in position of trust, sexual abuse of a child as a pattern and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in the incidents involving the minor boys. He is not charged in a 2000 incident involving a young man over 18 in Fort Collins which is detailed in the arrest affidavit. He was arrested late last year and is free on $75,000 bond. The unsealed affidavit gave this account of the assaults: All three alleged victims worked at churches where Evans served. They met with him in his office, where they were asked to lie down and were caressed and sexually fondled by Evans. The first incident occurred at the Arvada church in May 1996, but it was not reported to police or the church until 2003. The alleged victim told investigators that he was working at the church when his father found books on non-Catholic spirituality in his backpack and took the boy to meet with Evans. The boy said that he met with Evans in the priest's office, was asked to lie down on the floor and relax while the priest fondled his chest, arms and legs. When the fondling went beyond that, the boy became so alarmed that he got up and left. Although the boy told his parents, his father didn't report the incident until February 2003. By then, Evans had been removed from his ministry. He was removed from St. Elizabeth's in 2002 and taken out of all priestly activities in 2003. The affidavit says Monsignor Thomas Fryar of the Archdiocese of Denver heard of the allegation from another party in February 2003 and said he was going to St. Louis to meet with Evans who was in a therapy center for priests. The second incident involving a child was reported to Fort Collins police in March 2004 by Fryar, who said the incident occurred in 1999 at the Fort Collins parish. Fryar provided the alleged victim's name and he told investigators he had contacted the Archdiocese of Denver a week earlier. The affidavit gives this account: The boy said he worked at St. Elizabeth's from 1998 to 1999 and developed a physical relationship with Evans that started with wrestling and escalated into sexual contact. The boy said he quit his job, moved to attend college and didn't hear from Evans until 2002 when Evans said someone else had reported a sexual assault. "He asked (the victim) if he felt like he had molested him and (the victim) said he did," the affidavit says. "He offered (the victim) money, material objects or to buy him anything else he wanted." During a 2004 meeting with Fort Collins police and the alleged victim, Evans said he was obsessed with the boy and "loved" him deeply, the affidavit says. The third alleged victim was a young man over 18 who worked at the Fort Collins parish between 1997 and 2000, according to the affidavit, which gave this account: The young man turned to Evans for counseling about his marriage, Evans suggested he lay down on the floor and relax, where he sexually fondled him. Several days later, the man confronted Evans and Evans got defensive and angry. The man later quit, reported the incident to the Archdiocese of Denver and met with Fryar in May 2002. He later met with the archdiocese's team that assesses allegations. The man met with Archbishop Charles Chaput in October 2002 because he was dissatisfied with the church's response, the affidavit says. Larimer County investigators said the man told them of a similar situation at the Arvada church and said that Evans had been moved to Fort Collins as a result, the arrest affidavit says. "The Archdiocese of Denver never transferred Father Evans between parishes with the knowledge of any allegation against him of sexual misconduct," Fryar said Thursday in a statement. In his statement, Fryar also said that the church follows state law and its own policies and reports all allegations of sexual misconduct with a child. Rev. Timothy Evans case history • 1996: First alleged sexual assault on a child by Evans, at Spirit of Christ Church in Arvada. • 1999: Second alleged sexual assault, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton in Fort Collins. • 2000: Alleged sexual assault on another young man at St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton, Fort Collins. • 2002: First report of inappropriate contact by Evans to the Archdiocese of Denver and to police. • 2002: Evans removed as pastor at St. Elizabeth's. • 2003: 1996 Arvada incident reported to archdiocese and police. • 2003: Evans removed from any ministering to the public. • 2004: Another Fort Collins sexual assault by Evans reported to Archdiocese of Denver and police. • 2005: Charges in sexual assaults on two children filed.Source: Larimer County Arrest Affidavit
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