A Montezuma County man who previously lived in Durango has been charged with sexually assaulting a former romantic partner’s daughter, a minor, according to a La Plata County Sheriff’s Office affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the girl’s mother contacted the Sheriff’s Office in 2022, reporting that her ex-boyfriend, then 49-year-old Jason Burton, had given her daughter large doses of cold medicine to subdue her and molested her daughter repeatedly over the four years they were together.
A forensic interview was conducted, the affidavit said. In August 2023, a Sheriff’s Office investigator contacted Burton for a phone interview. Burton allegedly said he had not done anything inappropriate with the girl – unprompted by the investigator, the affidavit said.
“During the conversation, (the investigator) didn’t ask many questions; Burton offered most of the information without questioning,” the affidavit said.
The next day, the investigator met with Burton at the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office in Cortez to continue the interview. Burton again opened the conversation by denying he had ever touched the girl inappropriately.
“At this point in the conversation, (the investigator) had not informed Burton of the purpose of this investigation,” the affidavit said. “He seemed to want to make clear that he wasn’t involved in sexual activity or inappropriate activity with (the girl).”
Throughout the interview, Burton maintained that nothing inappropriate occurred and said he had tried to act as a father figure to the girl, according to the affidavit.
However, he refused to take a polygraph test, adding that “girls can use allegations of sexual assault against someone to get the girl out of trouble.” He suggested the girl take a polygraph test to make sure she was not lying.
Additionally, the affidavit said, Burton “was concerned that a polygraph did not stand in court, so he didn’t want to take it.”
Burton was allowed to leave. Investigators then conducted fake text and phone conversations with Burton between December 2023 and January 2025, posing as the girl.
Burton has a history of sexual misconduct, according to the affidavit – including an incident in which he was thrown out of a Cortez restaurant for stalking a woman and another where he was restrained from his ex-wife for stalking her.
Throughout the conversations, Burton maintained he had not acted inappropriately, the affidavit said.
“On (July 23, 2024), Burton sent a picture of a naked girl in a shower through the pretext conversation,” the affidavit said. “When asked, he denied sending the picture.”
In August 2025, a follow-up interview was conducted with the alleged victim, who maintained Burton had continually assaulted her throughout the time he and her mother were dating.
The investigator concluded that there was probable cause to believe Burton committed sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, a felony.
Burton was being held Wednesday in the La Plata County Jail on a $250,000 bail.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
