Retired Jeffco DA Investigator Charged With Sexual Assault

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO — A former law enforcement officer has been charged with sexual assault, the Jefferson County DA announced Friday.

Wayne Darrell Nelson, 69, is accused of assaulting three women between April 2018 and December 2020. He's been charged with attempt to commit sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and soliciting prostitution, the DA said.

Nelson worked for the Westminster Police Department before he was hired in 2008 by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, where he worked until he resigned in 2014.

All three women were Nelson's tenants and roommates, according to an arrest affidavit. The retired officer forcibly groped and solicited sex from his 27-year-old tenant in Arvada on Dec. 24, 2020, the DA said.

"The charges also allege two separate incidents of unlawful sexual contact on previous female roommates that occurred in 2018 and 2020," read a news release from the DA's office. "The alleged victims told detectives that they were scared to report Mr. Nelson’s conduct because he was a retired law enforcement officer."

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Nelson turned himself into the Jefferson County Jail Thursday, the DA said. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 7.