Ken Buck's refusal to prosecute alleged rape an effort to make him seem insensitive to women

Ken Buck.

Update below: Late last month, Colorado GOP boss Dick Wadhams said Democrats' decision to attack Ken Buck with ads on issues like abortion shows that they're "intellectually bankrupt," since the voting public is clearly more interested in "the economy and taxes and spending."

But Buck opponents aren't letting up on related topics -- like his alleged insensitivity to a 2005 rape victim.

The Colorado Independent's Scot Kersgaard authored a story today on the case -- the first of three articles about Buck's "handling of rape cases as the Weld County district attorney and his stance on women's issues," according to a note at the end of the piece. The left-leaning site plans to publish these followups tomorrow and Wednesday, respectively.

However, the person who put Kersgaard in touch with the former University of Northern Colorado student in question was Kjersten Forseth, executive director of ProgressNow Colorado, a liberal advocacy organization that participated in a September 21 news conference intended to highlight Buck's opposition to abortion for victims of incest and rape.

Kjersten Forseth.

Forseth confirms that she had been in touch with the 2005 incident's victim prior to the press event on the 21st. While speaking there, she even quoted from a 2006 Greeley Tribune article in which Buck explained that he'd decided against prosecuting in part because "a jury could very well conclude that this is a case of buyer's remorse."

What led to this conclusion? Buck laid out some of the obstacles of a successful prosecution in a meeting with the victim that was recorded; a transcription of the conversation is on view below. At the time, Buck said, "You had consumed a lot of alcohol. You had a prior relationship. According to him, you were naked from the top up when he came into the bedroom."

She had also called to invite the man to come over -- but both she and the man confirmed that she said "no" to sex on multiple occasions.