Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty has responded to allegations that he let “cut loose” an alleged child sex offender after a citizen sting operation was conducted in Longmont earlier this week
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty has responded to allegations that he let “cut loose” an alleged child sex offender after a citizen sting operation was conducted in Longmont earlier this week. “Predator poacher” Alex Rosen wrote, “William Mcroberts brought 2 DILDOS, CONDOMS, DIAPERS, AND MORE to have sex with a 13 year old girl.. and despite that, he was let go due to Boulder County DA Michael Dougherty cutting him loose. William admitted to being in possession of child porn as well. This is f&%#ing ridiculous.” LibsofTikTok, an account with 4.7 million followers, also shared the accusation that Dougherty is responsible for the release of Mcroberts.
Dougherty, who is currently a candidate for Colorado Attorney General in the Democrat Party, appeared on Ryan Schuiling Live podcast to discuss the case and the reasons he was released without any charges. “I was not contacted. I was not involved. I’m not going to second guess the officers involved,“ Dougherty said on the podcast. “Any allegation is incredibly serious. The Longmont Police Department stressed they are conducting an investigation, they will bring the evidence. If the evidence supports criminal charges, they will pursue it aggressively.”
Dougherty also explained that the police department asked McRoberts for permission to search his phone for child sexual abuse material and to search his home. According to Dougherty, the suspect agreed to both searches and there was no evidence found. Dougherty said the Longmont Police Department is conducting its investigation and had not yet received the evidence that Rosen and his team gathered throughout his interactions with Mcroberts.
Rosen is one of many similar citizen “predator poachers” that have developed a large following across the country in a similar style to Chris Hansen who made child sex predator stings famous with his “To Catch a Predator” series more than two decades ago. Dougherty said he believes groups led by Rosen have good intentions, but also said citizens should not be conducting their own investigations. Dougherty said law enforcement needs to conduct a thorough investigation to prove probable cause in court and he doesn’t believe Rosen contacted the Longmont Police until he was already confronting Mcroberts in the park.
“It is important to note that “Predator Poachers from Texas” is not a law enforcement agency,” Longmont Public Safety wrote in a statement on Facebook. “Its members lack the training, authority, and legal standards required of police officers in Colorado. The release of this video has understandably raised concerns in the community. The Longmont Police Department takes all allegations of criminal conduct seriously and currently has an active investigation underway.”
