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Former Dolores County Sheriff's Deputy Arrested For Sexual Assault

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

A former Dolores County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting multiple boys, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is asking for other possible victims to come forward. Twenty-five-year-old Joshua M. Hemphill was arrested in Montrose, where he currently lives, on August 23rd. The Grand Junction Sentinel reports he is suspected of molesting at least five boys, ranging in age from 9 to 15. Hemphill worked for the Dolores County Sheriff’s Office from December 2016 through July of this year. Prior to that, he was a Detention Center employee in Mesa County, Colorado. An investigation reportedly began in July after a young man on probation in South Dakota recounted being abused by a law officer in Montrose in 2014. The Sentinel reports the boy, who was 12 at the time, met Hemphill through the Montrose Partners program. The boy said he suspected being drugged and sexually assaulted during overnight stays at Hemphill’s house. Partners terminated Hemphill’s volunteer status because he spent excessive time with the boy. Hemphill allegedly then cultivated a relationship with a 13-year-old. The Sentinel reports Hemphill admitted having sexual contact with three other boys dating back to 2007. Hemphill was being held on $250,000 bond at the Montrose County Jail. Anyone with information is asked to call the CBI tip line at 303-239-4243.

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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