STERLING, Colo. -- The sexual assault of a developmentally disabled woman by her Special Olympics coach has outraged many people in the small community of Sterling in northeastern Colorado.

What has many in the community alarmed is that the man who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of sexual assault and a misdemeanor charge of unlawful sexual contact is still employed by Logan County.

The rape is alleged to have happened in May 2005 at the home of John Gilbert Valdez. The guilty pleas came last November.

And yet despite being banned for life by the Special Olympics and being dropped as a member of the Lions Club, Valdez is still a Logan county employee because his plea deal hasn't been formally accepted by the court and he hasn't been sentenced.

At a Logan County Commissioners hearing Tuesday morning, there was a war of words.

"He admitted to sexually assaulting this person over a five-year period," said Chuck Glaser, who has a daughter who is also mentally challenged.

"He should be behind bars where all sexual predators belong. He broke a trust," said Sterling resident Theresa Lambert.

Valdez has served for six years as the coordinator of the Logan County senior center, also called the Heritage Center. According to court documents, he pleaded guilty in November to raping a 31-year-old woman who operates at a fifth-grade level. The assault allegedly happened at his home, while the woman was visiting Valdez's stepdaughter, who is also developmentally disabled.

Valdez told 7NEWS that, "It was adultery, it was not criminal. It was consensual between two people who know the difference between wrong and right. She knows the difference. What I did I admitted to, I guess my problem is telling the truth. I've worked all my life with developmentally disabled individuals, and I've never had a problem until now."

The county took action this past week and placed Valdez on unpaid suspension. But the prevailing questions among many in Sterling are: Why did it take so long for the suspension and why hasn't Valdez been fired all together?

"When you suspend somebody, you suspend them for stealing a box of pencils, not raping," said the victim's brother, Terry Gertge.

The Logan County attorney said the court has yet to sentence Valdez.

"And if we hastily take away employment without affording due process, we open ourselves up to potential liability. Especially if the basis for action takes place outside the county and not on county time," said Logan County Attorney Alan Samber.

But many said it's all carried on far too long.

"I think this is a clear-cut case of protecting someone with a name," said Glaser.

Valdez said he was railroaded by the district attorney and the only reason he took the plea deal was because he would have faced a life sentence.

In a statement released to 7NEWS, Valdez said, "I would like to continue my position at the Heritage Center. Anyone there would tell you I've spent the past six years helping people. I consider it my ministry."

The family of the victim said the case and this ongoing saga has torn them apart.