Steamboat man accused of human trafficking in exchange for illegal drugs
A Steamboat Springs man was arrested on Thursday after being accused of selling a person into human trafficking in exchange for illegal drugs, according to the arrest affidavit.
Morgan Richard, 31, was arrested just after noon Thursday and charged with human trafficking for sexual servitude, sexual assault, third-degree assault and domestic violence.
A Steamboat Springs police officer responded to a call about domestic violence on Wednesday after a person called 911 about an alleged sexual assault.
The reporting party said Richard had allegedly sexually assaulted them while they were having a medical emergency, and added that he had allegedly “sold” them for sex in exchange for illegal drugs two days prior, according to the affidavit. The document adds that it is “unknown” what kind of drugs were exchanged.
During an interview, Steamboat police “observed scratch marks on Morgan’s neck and back,” the affidavit states. Richard told police the injuries were “marks of intimacy.”
The individual who reported the alleged assault was later flown to a hospital in Fort Collins. In an interview with a case worker, the person said they lost consciousness due to a medical emergency and woke up to Richard allegedly sexually assaulting them, according to the document.
The affidavit also states that Richard allegedly “forced” the reporting party to “have sex with his drug dealer so that he could get cocaine.”
According to the affidavit, Richard had two active arrest warrants in Grand Junction. One warrant was for failing to appear in court, domestic violence and criminal mischief, and the other was for failing to appear and a DUI.
Richard also has an “extensive criminal history to include domestic violence, assault and drugs,” states the affidavit.
Richard remained held under a $25,000 bond at the Routt County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Routt County Combined Courts clerk’s office.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 3.
Editor’s note: Every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless and until their guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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