Jefferson County Records Department
Audio By Carbonatix
In the spring and summer of 2023, women who wanted to go for a solo hike in Jefferson County hit a major roadblock: an unknown sexual predator who’d started out with exposing himself to female hikers, then escalated to grabbing them.
But on October 17, 21-year-old Glenn Braden was sentenced to eight years to life in prison for a string of sexual crimes in Jeffco parks last year. He was also ordered to pay $1,526 in restitution and comply with lifetime sex offender registration.
Between April 3, 2023, and August 8, 2023, Braden confronted at least eleven female hikers along trails in Flying J Ranch Park, Alderfer/Three Sisters Park and Genesee Mountain Park, all in Jefferson County. In August, he pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and indecent exposure; as a result, he faced a term of between four to twelve years, and up to life in prison.
“People come to Colorado for the mountains,” Deputy District Attorney Allie Galvan said at the sentencing. “Thousands of women across our state like to hike alone to enjoy the beauty of nature and soak up the mental health benefits of hiking.” Braden destroyed that basic freedom for many, she noted.
Before moving to Colorado, Braden was behind at least two similar incidents in South Carolina, in 2019 and 2020, which Galvan argued showed that his pattern of escalation went back years, not just months, and “he grew more brazen with each contact, and attempted to rip the clothing off one of his final victims.”
Through pre-sentence evaluations, Braden was found to have a high risk of reoffending, which Galvan argued made him an extreme public safety risk. “This is someone who has been given a chance at diversion and treatment for similar behavior, and who has admitted he has a compulsion he cannot control,” she said.
Braden addressed the court at his sentencing. “I take complete responsibility for every single action that occurred during this time,” he said, apologizing to the victims and saying he was eager to start treatment and “commit to the time it takes to change my thoughts, behaviors and actions.”
The judge thanked the victims for their powerful impact statements, saying, “You are seen, and you are heard.”
