Walsh refutes abuse allegation

PARADOX — A child abuse citation against county commission hopeful Tim Walsh is nothing more than a political smear, the candidate said.

Walsh was cited on suspicion of child abuse and reckless endangerment, according to the Nucla Associate Court. Also cited were his wife, Robin, Shawna Parker and Tyrell Parker, the Montrose County Sheriff's Office said.

According to the MCSO, the citations were issued after two of Walsh's grandchildren were injured in a four-wheeler accident Aug. 29.

"It's political," Walsh said. "Somebody's trying to get it in the papers so they can smear my name before the election."

Walsh said his grandson rode an ATV down to turn on irrigation pumps, then picked up his little sister to give her a ride. The little girl grabbed hold of the throttle, causing the ATV to dump them. The children were taken to the clinic and required a few stitches, he said. One child in the home called 911, though, triggering an investigation.

Walsh, a Democrat, is running against Republican David White for the District 3 county commission seat. He petitioned onto the ballot for the primary and won more votes than caucus winner Roger Brown.

Walsh was stunned to be cited for abuse for what he says was a simple accident. He hopes to speak to the district attorney to resolve the case.

"I'll be found innocent," Walsh said. "We live on a farm. Like every other farm area, our children drive four wheelers. ... This is another case of the west meets the east. People in the city have no idea what it's like to live in the country and raise children in the country."

Walsh said if the citation against him stands, anyone else is fair game for simple accidents, too. "This means if I put him (child) on a horse, and the horse throws him, I get a ticket. If you let your children ride a bicycle and they wreck, you could be ticketed," he said.

Robin Walsh said the situation was "definitely political" and she hoped the DA would dismiss the ticket.

"If he doesn't, we're to plead not guilty, because there wasn't anything that was abuse. There was no abusive situation there at all," she said.

"Right now, we're kind of up in the air. The DA won't talk to us. ... According to Tim's attorney, it's a political thing, because nobody's ever been charged for having kids on 4-wheelers. ... Until we can set up a meeting with the DA, we can't even tell what happened, or why he's charging."

Both Walshes referred to a 5-year-old Grand Junction boy who was injured in a motocross accident. No charges were filed in that case, they said.

The MCSO's West End office referred further questions about the incident to the DA's office. District Attorney Myrl Serra said the decision to cite the Walshes was made by the MCSO.

Officials at the sheriff's office in Montrose who were familiar with the case were not in the office Wednesday.

Crawford attorney Lynn French, who will likely represent Walsh in the case, said he'd never heard of child abuse citations being issued under such circumstances.

"If you're guilty of child abuse for allowing your child to drive farm and ranch equipment, everyone's guilty of it in Western Colorado," he said. "I just never have heard of somebody getting charged with something like that."

The Walshes are due in court in Nucla next week.