2 Men Charged In 1984 Rape Of Greeley Woman
By Jeff Todd
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4)- Two men are now charged with a crime for the rape of a Greeley woman nearly 32 years ago, but they're not being charged for sexual assault.
The case stems from an incident on July 31, 1984. A woman was walking northbound on Eighth Avenue toward her home after getting off work at a local restaurant. Near the gas station at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 16th Street two men came running up to her and eventually forced her into a dark alley.
"(They) told her they were going to kill her if she didn't comply with some of the things that they were telling her to do," said Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke.
The case went cold until 2014 when the state Legislature passed a law allowing unsolved cases with DNA to be retested. Late last year, a Greeley police detective got word from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation that there were two matches for the DNA.
"And the investigation proceeded from there," Rourke said.
The detective went to a Colorado Prison in Sterling to talk with Inocencio "Junior" Trevino who is serving a sentence for an unrelated crime. Trevino, 48, was only 17 at the time of the alleged attack but lived in the Greeley area. Court records state Trevino's criminal history proves he was around Greeley in the early 1980s. Online court records show a lengthy criminal history.
The investigation then turned to Rusty Barnhart who told detectives he lived around Greeley in the early 1980s. Originally Barnhart, 56, denied the encounter but then admitted to the detectives the brutal attack likely happened during a night of drinking.
Barnhart was living in Texas and is a registered sex offender for a different case. He did not fight extradition back to Colorado.
The victim still lives around Greeley and has met with Rourke, "I sat down with her two weeks ago, in part, to explain to her what the process is going to be, what charges we are filing, and also, what charges we can't file."
Barnhart and Trevino are charged with second-degree kidnapping.
"We couldn't file the sexual assault because it's barred by the statute of limitations. Back in 1984 the statute of limitations for sexual assault was three years. Kidnapping doesn't have a statute of limitations," Rourke said.
Colorado's sexual assault statute of limitations is now 10 years. State lawmakers tried to get rid of any statute of limitations earlier this year, but compromised on 20 years in a committee vote. It is still being debated in the capitol. A change in the law would not alter this case.
"These are exactly the kinds of cases you don't ever want to give up on," Rourke said. "My hope is that any measure of accountability at this point hopefully can give her some closure."
Barnhart and Trevino have preliminary court dates in May. A trial wouldn't likely start for more than a year. If convicted the pair face up to 24 years in prison.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
