In a case that seems straight out of an episode of Law and Order, on Friday former Arapahoe County Sheriff Pat Sullivan was formally charged in court in a drugs-for-sex case, the charges including three felonies and one misdemeanor. The charges surrounding the case are bizarre and surprising, even for a seasoned Colorado criminal defense lawyer.
Sullivan was jailed Tuesday after a sting operation in which he was allegedly caught trading drugs for sex with a male acquaintance. He was charged with three felony crimes:
- Distribution of a controlled substance
- Possession of methamphetamine
- Attempt to influence a public official.
In addition, Sullivan was charged with the misdemeanor offense of solicitation of prostitution. Sullivan’s suspected dealer will likely be charged soon.
More potential charges have come to light, however. Allegedly, in 2007 Sullivan assisted his friend Sean Moss, a gay pornographic movie actor with whom he had a long-time relationship, to get a job in a local school system, working for Overland High School. Overland officials said that they have had no complaints regarding Moss’s interactions with students. Moss, however, died earlier this year, and though his death is still under investigation, he had quantities of methamphetamines and GHB – the date rape drug – in his system at the time of his death. Prosecutors believe that it’s possible Moss got the drugs from Sullivan, and they are engaged in an active investigation into this possibility. Court documents show that while a bail bondsman put up the money, Sullivan was involved in a case wherein Moss was bailed out of jail on drug charges shortly before his death.
As any criminal law attorney can tell you, cases like this tend to get more complicated and fascinating as they go on. It should be quite interesting to see how this one plays out.
