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October 22, 2004
Children recall sex abuse in affidavits
Allegations against couple alarming
By COURTNEY LINGLE -- coloradoan.com
Affidavits made available by the courts Thursday revealed disturbing allegations in a child sex-assault case against a Loveland couple accused of molesting their children.
James and Dawn Triggs are in jail on multiple felony charges of sex assault on a child, sexual exploitation of a child and pattern of abuse for a series of alleged incidents authorities say took place between Nov. 1, 1994, and July 31, 1995.
James Triggs, 35, faces 17 counts in all. His wife, Dawn, 40, is charged with nine counts.
At a hearing Wednesday, Chief District Court Judge James Hiatt ruled that court documents in the case, namely arrest warrants and affidavits, should be open to the public. The documents were made available to the public Thursday.
Affidavits for the arrest warrant described gut-wrenching disclosures made by the Triggs' children, now ages 10 through 17, about the sexual abuse they allegedly suffered 10 years ago.
The document alleges that Dawn and James Triggs repeatedly touched their children's genitals and forced them to have sex with the parents and each other.
The children, who are all living in foster or adopted homes, have not been named to protect their privacy. According to the affidavit, Dawn and James Triggs and their first eight children moved to Larimer County from Aurora in 1994.
Larimer County's Department of Human Services became involved with the family after the couple left all of their children, then ages 3 months to 7 years old, on the doorstep of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Fort Collins. The Triggs called police and said they could no longer care for their children, according to the affidavit.
The family was reunited shortly thereafter, receiving extensive assistance from DHS, including a rental home on East County Road 62 in Wellington that was paid for by the county. Allegations of child abuse prompted the removal of all the children from the Triggs' home in July 1995, and James and Dawn Triggs pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child abuse. A ninth child, who was born shortly after the other children were removed from the home, stayed with the parents for a short period of time, the affidavit said.
James and Dawn Triggs' parental rights were terminated in March 1997.
Shortly after the children were placed in foster homes, their foster parents and therapists reported they were making "spontaneous disclosures regarding sexual abuse by their biological parents and were acting out sexually in (their) foster homes," the affidavit said.
In 1998, Larimer County Sheriff's investigator Jacki Hurley reported that one of the boys told her in an interview that Dawn and James Triggs had sexually abused several of the children and made them perform sexual acts on each another.
The affidavit alleges sexual abuse involving six of the couple's children up until the time they were removed from the Triggs' custody in 1995.
The children relayed memories of multiple instances of sexual victimization, many of which occurred in the bathtub.
The children also told authorities their parents made them play strip poker or the Yahtzee dice game, during which James Triggs allegedly directed the children to perform sexual acts when they got a full house, according to the affidavit.
The children said if they refused to play the game, their father would threaten them with a knife or a gun. One of the children said his mother often would hold him while his father sexually abused him, the affidavit said. The kids also described being locked in a closet and forced to have sex with each other.
The children have had almost no contact with one another since 1998, the affidavit said. Two of the children who were adopted together have not made any allegations about sexual abuse. Dawn Triggs' daughter by a previous marriage has not reported any abuse, either. A physical exam in 1986 for sexual abuse showed possible signs of abuse, and maternal grandparents reported the child exhibited sexually explicit behavior and had alleged abuse by both James and Dawn Triggs, the affidavit said.
The couple was arrested at their Loveland home Oct. 13.
James and Dawn Triggs are being held at the Larimer County Detention Center on $750,000 bonds. Both are scheduled for a hearing on bond at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Posted by Nealus at October 22, 2004 12:28 PM
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