Several residents of the Woody Creek Plaza neighborhood are sounding alarm bells with the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority about a convicted sex offender living in their neighborhood.
A number of residents made public comment at an APCHA board meeting on Wednesday, expressing concern about Henry Forbes Henley, a 24-year-old man who was convicted as an adult sex offender at age 18 and was arrested at the end of October for allegedly violating probation. They were concerned about Henley living in their neighborhood with young children near a playground, and urged APCHA to take action on Henley’s residence.
Henley currently lives with his parents, who own a deed-restricted Woody Creek home, APCHA counsel Tom Smith told the board on Wednesday.
Woody Creek resident Grant Purcell raised concerns with APCHA about Henley and requested the housing authority issue a notice of violation to Henley.
Smith told Purcell that APCHA staff would not proceed with resolving the matter informally (the first step in APCHA’s grievance procedure under its regulations) because “it’s a law enforcement matter and APCHA just doesn’t have the ability to step in to something of that nature,” Smith said during the meeting.
“The courts have determined that Mr. Henley can be on the street, not us,” Smith said. “The rights that are implicated here are those of his parents who own the property. The staff decision is now in the jurisdiction of the hearing officer … He’ll decide if the staff decision was correct or not.”
“We don’t regulate the conduct, the behavior of the residents of the homeowners’ associations that are deed-restricted. We don’t tell people they can’t play their music too loud, we don’t tell people they can’t get in fist fights, those are reasonable issues for a homeowner to raise, but that’s not what APCHA does, that’s managing the association and that’s not what we do,” he added.
Purcell filed a grievance with APCHA’s hearing officer, who will hear the case on Dec. 30.
Henley was arrested at the end of October for allegedly violating probation. Authorities say the violation occurred Sept. 6, when Henley allegedly drove recklessly with two other teenagers in his vehicle, purchased alcohol for them and offered a 14-year-old girl drugs — including Molly and ketamine — which she declined, the Aspen Daily News previously reported.
The girl and her mother reported the incident Sept. 24, according to court records.
Aspen police arrested Henley on Oct. 23 on two misdemeanor charges: contributing to the delinquency of a minor and violating a protection order. He posted a $5,000 bond and was released the same day.
It triggered a second arrest on Oct. 28 by Pitkin County deputies during a traffic stop, after prosecutors sought a warrant alleging Henley had violated probation with his recent arrest. District Judge Laura Makar authorized the warrant the same day, checking a box indicating “there is reason to believe the defendant poses a substantial risk of serious harm to others.”
Makar then set a $75,000 cash-only bond for Henley.
Henley pleaded guilty in August 2019 to felony second-degree assault, admitting he used his hands as a deadly weapon. That plea stemmed from allegations he restrained and choked a 16-year-old girl before sexually assaulting her. He also pleaded guilty to felony sexual assault using force against another victim, the Aspen Daily News previously reported.
His probation forbids him from using alcohol or controlled substances, accessing social media, entering businesses that primarily sell alcohol or marijuana, or working as a ride-share driver, among other prohibitions.
During an Oct. 29 hearing, Public Defender Desiree Mello argued that if Henley posed such a danger, prosecutors could have sought his arrest earlier. She also argued that Henley remains under “constant phone monitoring, random drug testing and other extremely restrictive conditions.” Mello also said Henley suffers from bipolar disorder, anxiety and PTSD.
Samantha Purcell, who lives in Woody Creek, said she worries for her young daughters who live and play outside in the neighborhood.
“To me, living in APCHA housing is a privilege, and there are a million reasons why someone can get kicked out for doing far less,” she told the APCHA board on Wednesday.
But APCHA board members emphasized they don’t have the authority as a board to take such action.
“The board has not talked about this. We don’t have a board position on this we are following the advice of our attorney now that it’s in the scope of a legal matter, it’s outside of a policy matter,” said Kelly McNicholas Kury, who represents Pitkin County on the APCHA board. “I think you can have a separate policy concern, but, you know, we’re not your adversaries here. I think, collectively, I can fully say that this is not a situation we want anyone in APCHA to endure or live in.”
Aspen City Councilwoman Christine Benedetti, who sits on the APCHA board, said she wanted the board to take another look at APCHA’s regulations to potentially prevent a similar situation from happening in the future.
“I know that we have had community concerns before about criminals or convicted criminals living in APCHA housing and … I don’t think that meets the mission of the program,” she said during the meeting. “We’re working so hard to create housing one unit at a time, and so when we are housing people who are a danger to our community, it doesn’t sit with me well, so I really would like to see at least some options of what we can do.”
