A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a man’s claims that a former Boulder County prosecutor “emboldened” an alleged sexual assault victim to alter her story after the original charge was dismissed for lack of probable cause.
The district attorney’s office twice attempted to prosecute Pierce Spinelli for felony sexual assault, his lawsuit alleged. But both times, the cases ended in dismissal. Spinelli then sued the prosecutor and detective who worked on the case, contending they conspired with his accuser to concoct a different version of the encounter after the first unsuccessful prosecution.
In an Oct. 7 order, U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez dismissed the claims against ex-Deputy District Attorney Michelle Sudano. He concluded Spinelli failed to identify what actions Sudano specifically took that amounted to fabricating evidence…