NewsLocal News

Actions

Man convicted of raping women leaving Denver bars charged in another sexual assault

whitehorn.png
Posted at 12:53 PM, Aug 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-25 14:57:19-04

DENVER – A man convicted in June of sexually assaulting four women as they left downtown bars in 2017 and 2018 has been charged in another sexual assault that happened in late May of this year.

Byron Whitehorn, 53, faces new charges of sexual assault and false imprisonment in connection with the latest rape.

According to an arrest affidavit, Whitehorn targeted a woman as she was leaving Vybe near 10th and Broadway on the evening of May 27. The woman was there with her spouse and friends, according to the affidavit, and they had been eating and drinking there. But they became separated when one of them needed to use the bathroom before they left.

The woman, who was intoxicated, according to the affidavit, was walking to their vehicle when Whitehorn asked her if she needed a ride.

According to the affidavit, she agreed to get a ride back to her home from Whitehorn but realized during the car ride he was not going to her home. She was confused as to what was happening, the document states.

He brought her to his home in the 3500 block of Marshall Street in Wheat Ridge, and when she tried to get out, she found all the doors were locked or secured.

Whitehorn sexually assaulted the woman, after which she was able to force open a door and escape, according to the affidavit.

She ran from the house, called a friend and police, and asked for help. Officers eventually were able to find her and take her home.

Less than a month later, on June 19, the woman saw a news story about Whitehorn being convicted earlier that week of sexually assaulting the other women and recognized him as her assailant, according to the affidavit. The assault was reported June 21 to the Denver Police Sex Crimes hotline.

The woman and another person, whose name is redacted in the affidavit, both positively identified Whitehorn as the alleged rapist.

Whitehorn was wearing a GPS ankle monitor at the time because of his pending trial. Court records show he posted a $500,000 surety bond in the case following his January 2019 arrest in the previous rapes.

But the GPS monitor showed Whitehorn was near Vybe around the time he is alleged to have taken the woman and went back to his house at the time he allegedly sexually assaulted her.

Whitehorn made his second court appearance in the case on Wednesday and faces a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 27. He is currently scheduled to be sentenced for his other rape convictions on Friday.