Aidan Atkinson’s preliminary hearing rescheduled for June

BOULDER» Aidan Atkinson has had the preliminary hearing on his sexual assault case pushed back to June, one of many hearings to be delayed because of court restrictions in place to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

Atkinson, 18, was arrested and charged in November as a juvenile after investigators alleged that he sexually assaulted multiple young women on a party bus in September 2018.

Atkinson was set for a preliminary hearing March 31 to determine whether there is probable cause to move the case forward, but that hearing was canceled after Chief District Judge Ingrid Bakke ordered all nonessential hearings be delayed because of concerns over the coronavirus.

Because Atkinson is out on a personal recognizance bond, the preliminary hearing was not one of the hearings exempt from Bakke’s order.

Atkinson is now scheduled for a preliminary hearing June 5, according to court records. Bakke has already ruled that the hearing will be closed to the media and most of the public due to concerns about coverage of the case affecting Atkinson and the named victims, all of whom were juveniles at the time of the alleged incident.

Bakke noted that Aktinson, formerly a star quarterback at Boulder’s Fairview High School, has received more media coverage than a typical juvenile defendant because of his sports career.

Named victims can be present or have up to two representatives at the hearing.

Atkinson is facing three charges of sexual assault, one charge of attempted sexual assault and five charges of unlawful sexual contact. He also is facing additional charges that were added to the case but have not yet been made public.