Galindo ticketed for giving alcohol to teenager

A Democratic state representative from Greeley who was facing a possible recall and resigned abruptly because of a criminal investigation has been ticketed for providing alcohol to a person younger than 21.

Greeley police also investigated sexual assault allegations against former Colorado House Rep. Rochelle Galindo, but she was not charged in connection with those claims.

The Greeley Police Department released its investigation report Thursday, revealing the nature of the investigation that led Galindo to resign. At the time of her resignation, Galindo said the allegations were false.

The investigation was launched after a 19-year-old woman who worked on Galindo’s election campaign said they had an inappropriate sexual relationship. But the woman ultimately told police she did not want to pursue a criminal investigation and the case was closed.

Fabio Cordeiro, who also worked on Galindo’s campaign, also was cited for providing alcohol to an underage person. The alcohol charges for Galindo and Cordeiro are misdemeanors.

Galindo, a 29-year-old lesbian Latina, won election in November as part of a statewide Democratic wave. She was facing the most well-funded of several recall efforts by conservatives over her support for changes to oil and gas regulations.

Efforts to reach Galindo on Thursday night were unsuccessful. Conor Cahill, spokesman for House Democrats, declined comment.

Greeley police launched an investigation May 6 after a reporter, who also is an employee of the conservative Independence Institute, began asking questions to sources in town about unverified information that Galindo would provide alcohol to young women working on her campaign and then sexually assault them, the police report said.

Police interviewed the 19-yearold, who was a college intern while working on the campaign, as part of their investigation. The young woman, whose name was redacted from the report, told police she was afraid to come forward because of the damage it could do to her political career.

She told police that her relationship with Galindo was professional for about a month after she was hired in August 2018 to work on the campaign. During sessions where volunteers would call potential campaign donors in the evenings, she said Galindo would be drinking and would provide alcohol for others, the police report said.

In September, Galindo began inviting her out for smoke breaks and more personal discussions. The woman said Galindo invited her to stay over and was flirtatious through text messages, and though the woman felt it was wrong, she didn’t want it to ruin the campaign.

After having a relationship for a month, the campaign worker said she made it clear she wasn’t interested, according to police documents.

She told police that after she tried to cut off the relationship with Galindo multiple times, the former representative began to act and treat her differently.