Warning: Some details contained in this story are graphic and may be disturbing to some readers...
A 30-year-old from Victoria is facing six charges of sexual assault after a “brutal” incident in Denver last fall.
U.S. authorities had been tracking Colby Messer for months, but he was only arrested on March 4 when he went back south of the border, to Las Vegas, to propose to his girlfriend.
The Denver District Attorney's office says Messer was in the Colorado city with several Canadian friends in November 2015 when he met the complainant at a bar.
The 27-year-old woman was repeatedly sexually assaulted when Messer brought her back to the Hyatt hotel room he was sharing with his friends, the office alleges. Three other Vancouver Island men are considered suspects.
The woman told a detective from the Denver Police Sex Crimes unit she “woke up in an unknown hotel room and was bleeding from the vaginal area,” and possibly her anus, according to court documents.
An affidavit sworn in court states the woman told police she did not consent to sexual intercourse, and alleges she was penetrated with several objects in the hotel room, including the television remote, the base of a lamp and a telephone receiver.
The district attorney says officials spent months tracking Messer and several other B.C. men after the assault was reported.
Messer was detained when he entered the U.S., and was taken to Denver after waiving his extradition.
He made his first court appearance last week, and was released from custody after posting a US $300,000 bond.
Messer has been ordered to surrender his passport, wear a tracking device and remain in Denver.
