MONTROSE – Myrl Serra, former 7th Judicial District attorney, was given probation and jail time for his sex crimes and was sentenced to one year in prison for violating his bond, according to a judge's ruling on Jan. 19.

It is a sentence that the state's First Assistant Attorney General Robert Shapiro, who prosecuted the case, disagrees with.

“There is a small group of sex offenders that have an opportunity to be safe in a managed setting, like probation,” Shapiro said Monday after the sentencing. “In my experience, the best chance of success [in rehabilitation] is for those who admit wrongdoing. Those that continue with victim blaming are not as successful.”

Serra was first arrested on Sept. 30, 2010 after allegations that he intimidated female employees to commit sex acts in his office. Three women came forward, but others that were interviewed either didn't want to come forward or the crimes against them were civil sexual harassment cases, not criminal crimes, Shapiro said.

“We were only mandated to investigate criminal crimes,” he said.

Serra was charged with three counts of indecent exposure and two counts of misdemeanor unlawful sexual conduct, as well as felony extortion and official misconduct, according to the sentencing order. All but the sexual conduct and extortion charges were dismissed by the district attorney's office, according to that report.

On Oct. 19, 2011, Serra used the Alford plea, a guilty plea in criminal court in which the defendant does not have to admit guilt, and avoids a jury trial – but does, by using the plea, acknowledge there is enough evidence to convict them beyond a reasonable doubt of the crime, if it were to go to a jury trial.

Because Serra didn't actually admit to his crimes, Shapiro was asking for nine-and-a-half years in prison – eight years for the sex crimes, and one-and-a-half years for violating court orders.

In December 2011, Serra violated his bond conditions, violated a protection order and was charged with harassing a witness – and pled guilty to charges on all counts.

On those charges – the bond violation was a felony conviction – Serra was sentenced to one year in prison, followed by one year of mandatory parole, according to the sentencing order.

This week, Serra is expected to be transferred to the Denver Regional Diagnostic Center for evaluation, based on his behavior and crimes, and determination of where he will be placed.

But because that process takes time, and because Serra has been credited with 132 days served, the DRDC may decide not to transfer him to a traditional prison, because of the short time he has left to serve, Shapiro said.

After where he will serve time has been determined, Serra will return to Montrose County to serve 60 days in county jail for his sex crimes, as a condition of his probation. He is also required to remain on probation for four years, and complete sex-offender counseling.

A presentencing evaluation found that Serra poses a low risk of being a re-offender, Shapiro said.

Because of what the judge focused on in court, Shapiro believes this low-risk classification came about because Serra was removed from office, disbarred from practicing law and no longer has supervision over women, and that because Serra was removed from his environment, the courts believed he was unlikely to commit further sex crimes, he said.

But admitting guilt is required to successfully complete the sex offender training, Shapiro observed, adding that his team will keep an eye on Serra's progress. If they find that he is not progressing in probation and counseling, the team may take more legal action.

Contact Kati O'Hare at kohare@watchnewspapers.com PUBLISHED JAN 19.

MONTROSE – Myrl Serra, former 7th Judicial District attorney, was given probation and jail time for his sex crimes and was sentenced to one year in prison for violating his bond, according to a judge’s ruling on Jan. 19.

Serra was charged with three counts of indecent exposure, two counts of misdemeanor unlawful sexual conduct, as well as felony extortion and official misconduct, according to the sentencing order. All but the sexual conduct and extortion charges were dismissed by the district attorney’s office.

Serra was first arrested on Sept. 30, 2010 after allegations that he intimidated female employees to commit sex acts in his office.

On Oct. 19, Serra used the Alford plea, which is a guilty plea in criminal court but the defendant does not have to admit guilt.

But in December, Serra violated his bond conditions, violated a protection order and was also charged with harassing a witness — all of which he plead guilty to.

To those charges, Serra was sentenced to one year in prison, followed by one year of mandatory parole, according to the sentencing order released Jan. 19.

Serra was credited with 132 days served, and following his prison sentence, will return to Montrose County to serve 60 days in jail for his sex crimes. He was also sentenced to four years probation and must complete sex offender treatment.

For the full story, see next week's issue of The Watch.