Crime
Ex-CU student convicted of rape, who prosecutors said got light sentence, released 1 year early
BOULDER, Colo. – A man convicted of raping a woman while he was a student at the University of Colorado has been released from the Boulder County jail after serving one of two years of in-house work release, jail records show.
Prosecutors and others had already been critical of the judge in Austin Wilkerson’s case. He received a 2-year work release sentence with 20 years-to-life of supervised sex offender probation after he was convicted of raping another CU student after a party in 2014. Continue reading
Ex-DJ David Mueller on Taylor Swift groping: ‘I didn’t do what they say I did’
DENVER – A day after a federal jury in Denver found he had assaulted and battered pop star Taylor Swift when he groped her before a 2013 concert, former KYGO DJ David Mueller maintained that he never touched Swift’s rear end.
“What I’m saying is that I didn’t do what they say I did,” Mueller told ABC’s Good Morning America. “I didn’t do it. I never grabbed her. I never had my hand under her skirt, and I can pass a polygraph.”
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Mueller spoke exclusively to Clayton Sandell of ABC News after the trial, in which he also lost out on a claim that he was wrongfully fired because Swift’s mother, Andrea, and manager Frank Bell forced his general manager at KYGO to fire him over the allegations.
By the end of the six-day trial, which started early last week, Mueller was seeking a couple hundred thousand dollars—the remainder of his contract and endorsements at KYGO after his firing.
The U.S. District Court of Colorado judge presiding over the case, William J. Martinez, had tossed four other claims against Andrea Swift and Bell, and had thrown out all claims against the singer herself.
But Swift’s counterclaim against Mueller, in which she alleged he assaulted and battered her when he allegedly groped her during the photo shoot ahead of the June 2, 2013 concert, persisted and went to the jury. Swift sought only $1 in nominal damages in her counterclaim; her attorney said that was because she simply wanted Mueller to be held accountable for his actions.
Still Tuesday, however, Mueller denied ever touching her inappropriately.
“I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t invited to be in the photo, so I just moved into the shot the best I could,” he told ABC’s Sandell.
Mueller also told ABC that he had sought “something in writing” from Swift’s team “which stated there was a misunderstanding.” He said such a note would have helped “possibly convince someone to hire” him.
He also said he was “maybe” thinking about filing an appeal in the case—something that ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams scoffed at.
“He’d be crazy to appeal. Not because he doesn’t have a shot, but because this is a civil case about money. This isn’t a criminal case,” Abrams said. “In a civil case about money you have to decide how much is it going to cost me to appeal. An appeal would be very expensive and the chances of him winning an appeal are very, very small.”
Mueller’s attorney in the case, M. Gabriel McFarland, didn’t mention an appeal when he sent a statement to Denver7 late Monday.
“I’m disappointed for Mr. Mueller, but I respect the jury’s decision,” McFarland said.
In a statement Monday, Swift thanked her supporters, Judge Martinez and team of attorneys for “fighting for” her.
“I want to thank Judge William J. Martinez and the jury for their careful consideration, my attorneys Doug Baldridge, Danielle Foley, Jay Schaudies and Katie Wright for fighting for me and anyone who feels silenced by a sexual assault, and especially anyone who offered their support throughout this four-year ordeal and two-year long trial process,” she said.
She also said she’d be making donations “in the near future” to organizations “that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.”
“My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard,” Swift said.
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Want to read back through all of our coverage of the case? Click on the headlines below:
- Jury finds Taylor Swift was assaulted and battered by former Denver DJ, awards her $1
- Taylor Swift groping case: Live updates from Day 6 in Denver federal court
- 7 of the most eye-popping quotes from the Taylor Swift groping trial
- Claims against Taylor Swift dismissed in trial, but some proceed against mom and manager
- Judge to decide if claims should be tossed in Taylor Swift trial; closing statements set for Monday
- Taylor Swift’s bodyguard testifies at trial: ‘I don’t believe I saw it. I know I saw it.’
- Taylor Swift groping case: Live updates from Day 5 in Denver federal court
- Taylor Swift fans not loving courtroom sketches of singer
- Confident Taylor Swift takes stand in trial: ‘He grabbed my bare ass…I know it was him.’
- Taylor Swift groping case: Live updates from Day 4 in Denver federal court
- Taylor Swift’s mother takes the stand in groping trial: Incident ‘absolutely shattered our trust’
- Taylor Swift groping case: Live updates from Day 3 in Denver federal court
- Taylor Swift’s defense team digs into former DJ in cross-examination to kick off trial
- Taylor Swift groping case: Live updates from Day 2 in Denver federal court
- Trial over Denver radio host accused of groping Taylor Swift starts in less than a month
Jury finds Taylor Swift was assaulted and battered by former Denver DJ, awards her $1
DENVER – A federal jury in Denver on Monday found that Taylor Swift was assaulted and battered by former Denver DJ David Mueller when he groped her at a photo-shoot ahead of a June 2013 concert, and found that Andrea Swift and Frank Bell did not interfere with Mueller’s employment.
The jury also awarded Swift the $1 she had sought in her counterclaim in the suit. Mueller was awarded nothing because the jury found against him. Continue reading
Taylor Swift groping trial goes to jury after impassioned closing arguments
UPDATE: The jury found that David Mueller assaulted and battered Taylor Swift when he grabbed her rear end during a photo shoot before a 2013 concert in Denver, and awarded her the $1 she was seeking. The jury ruled that Andrea Swift and Frank Bell weren’t responsible for Mueller’s firing. Read the story here.
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DENVER – A federal jury in Denver is now deciding whether a former Denver radio DJ groped Taylor Swift at a photo-shoot before a June 2013 concert, and whether Swift’s mother and manager influenced the decision by the DJ’s company to fire him because of the allegations. Continue reading
7 of the most eye-popping quotes from the Taylor Swift groping trial
DENVER — The trial between Taylor Swift, her mother and management, and a former Denver radio DJ accused of groping her, has been filled with impassioned and quotable moments. We went back and found seven of the most eye-popping quotes so far from the six-day trial: Continue reading
Taylor Swift groping case: Live updates from Day 6 in Denver federal court
DENVER – A federal jury in Denver on Monday found that Taylor Swift was assaulted and battered by former Denver DJ David Mueller when he groped her at a photo-shoot ahead of a June 2013 concert, and found that Andrea Swift and Frank Bell did not interfere with Mueller’s employment.
The jury’s decision came after about 4 1/2 hours of deliberations, which followed closing arguments made Monday morning. Continue reading
Claims against Taylor Swift dismissed in trial, but some proceed against mom and manager
DENVER – A judge in federal court in Denver on Friday dismissed all claims a former radio DJ accused of groping Taylor Swift made against her, but one of the claims still stands against her mother and her manager. A counterclaim she filed against the former DJ, David Mueller, will also go to the jury.
Judge William J. Martinez ordered the jury in the trial back to court at the U.S. District Court of Colorado Monday at 9:30 a.m. for further instructions, and the closing statements will be made afterward. Continue reading
Judge to decide if claims should be tossed in Taylor Swift trial; closing statements set for Monday
DENVER – The trial involving Taylor Swift and a former Denver radio DJ who allegedly grabbed her rear end during a photo shoot before a 2013 concert in Denver neared its end Friday, as the judge set closing statements for Monday while he decided whether several claims in the original suit should be dismissed.
After a morning of testimony from Swift’s former bodyguard, radio DJ David Mueller’s cohost, and Mueller’s girlfriend, Swift’s lawyer, J. Douglas Baldridge, argued in a private meeting between the lawyers and the judge that the claims in the original civil suit should be tossed in a Rule 50 motion, and that Taylor Swift herself should be removed from the suit altogether. Continue reading
Taylor Swift’s bodyguard testifies at trial: ‘I don’t believe I saw it. I know I saw it.’
DENVER – Taylor Swift’s bodyguard was called to testify Friday morning in the pop star’s trial involving a former radio DJ accused of groping her before a 2013 concert in Denver, and said that it was not an “allegation” that the DJ had touched her inappropriately—“I know I saw it,” he said.
The bodyguard, Greg Dent, is a former National Security Agency and Department of Defense worker who had Top Secret-level clearances while he worked for the government. He also trained at the National Police Academy, and has worked as a professional bodyguard for high-profile celebrities for more than 15 years. Continue reading
Taylor Swift groping case: Live updates from Day 5 in Denver federal court
DENVER – Taylor Swift was confident and defiant when she was called to the stand Thursday to testify at the trial centering around her alleged groping at the hands of a former Denver radio DJ before one of her concerts in Denver in June 2013.
Friday is Day 5 of the trial, which has been scheduled for 9 days and is expected to wrap sometime next week. Continue reading