Colorado cop accused of sexually abusing daughter walks free but ex-wife jailed for refusing therapy

Michael Hawkins, charged with sexually abusing daughter, is released while his ex-wife is jailed for refusing therapy.

A retired Denver police officer, Michael Hawkins, has been released from custody following accusations of sexually abusing his daughters, but his ex-wife, Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins, claims she has been jailed for refusing to comply with court-ordered therapy for their sons.

Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins was found in contempt of court for refusing to send their two youngest sons, aged 10 and 13, to reunification therapy with Hawkins. This therapy had been mandated as part of their ongoing divorce proceedings, which began before the criminal charges against Hawkins were filed. Pickrel-Hawkins alleges that the therapy has been detrimental and accuses the therapist of siding with Hawkins, pressuring the children to forgive him.

NEW: Colorado police officer who allegedly r*ped his own daughter is free while the mother is jailed for refusing therapy.

Your lovely 'justice' system at work.

Michael Hawkins, who was praised for his heroism during the Aurora sh**ting, is accused of r*ping his 5-year-old… pic.twitter.com/kpBaQQZBIc

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 2, 2024

Hawkins, a former Aurora police sergeant, is accused of sexually assaulting Pickrel-Hawkins' two eldest daughters, whom he had adopted. The allegations include long-term sexual abuse of their 17-year-old daughter and an incident where Hawkins allegedly used police tactics to hold their older son, now 19, underwater during a 2018 trip to Costa Rica. The son claims this was in retaliation for confronting Hawkins about inappropriate behavior.

Despite the serious allegations, Larimer County District Court Judge Daniel McDonald expressed skepticism, noting that no criminal charges had been filed at the time of his ruling and that the Department of Human Services’ findings could be based solely on the child’s statements without corroborative evidence. However, Hawkins was later charged on July 29 with six felony counts of sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust, as well as one count of misdemeanor child abuse.

Hawkins has a controversial history, including a 2017 incident where he was accused of stomping on a woman's head during an arrest. The city of Aurora settled the lawsuit by paying the woman $335,000. Hawkins retired in 2018 after a fit-for-duty medical exam.

Pickrel-Hawkins, who currently has custody of the minor children, arranged for relatives to care for them while she serves a court-ordered sentence of seven weekends in jail.