Suspected Colo. rapist has political ties

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DENVER, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- A Colorado man with state political ties has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, kidnapping and police impersonation, court documents say.

William Costello, 47, arrested by Bayfield, Colo., sheriffs and the FBI Nov. 5 while dropping off campaign lawn signs in a car owned by Democratic political consultant Mike Stratton, has been linked by DNA to three sexual attacks, the Denver Post reported Wednesday.

The court documents, released Monday, accuse Costello of raping a 13-year-old girl after luring her into his car in 2008, and attacking two women in his car, in 2010 and in 2011, claiming to be a police officer and threatening to arrest them if they withheld sex.

He allegedly assaulted an anti-abortion petitioner, breaking the man's hip, in a Denver supermarket parking lot in July, and faces a second-degree felony charge in that incident. Colorado law requires police to take DNA samples from anyone charged with a felony, and Costello's matched samples found on the bodies of the alleged victims, the newspaper said.

The news of his arrest shocked a community that knows Costello as a successful real estate broker, dedicated father and respected community member, including former Gov. Dick Lamm, who said, "It just makes you shake your head. He was the kind of guy that mothers would be so pleased to walk off with on a date. He was tied in with some very prominent Colorado names who mentored him. We are in shock around here."