Brennan Pieper, left, runs with Ralphie at a CU Boulder football game against Arizona on Nov. 11, 2023. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
This story was produced jointly by the CU Independent and The Bold.
Editor’s note: Multiple sources requested anonymity in order to speak freely about the allegations described in this story and to protect their well-being. We granted these requests because of the nature of the ongoing criminal proceedings and their sensitive subject matter.
This story contains descriptions of alleged sexual misconduct. Moving to End Sexual Assault offers resources to those in need within Boulder County. The Office of Victim Assistance offers campus-specific resources.
When 20-year-old Brennan Pieper became a Ralphie handler at the University of Colorado Boulder in fall 2022, about eight weeks had passed since university police received reports alleging he sexually assaulted one woman and sexually harassed another.
The CU Boulder student was arrested just days after joining the team and was charged with two counts of sexual assault, along with one count of unlawful sexual contact. All three charges relate to the woman who said she was assaulted. Pieper’s attorney denies the allegations.
Pieper has remained on the Ralphie handler team for over a year. He has run alongside the mascot at home games and appeared with the team at university-sponsored events. As of April 10, CU Boulder officials have not made a final decision about the allegations against Pieper – 17 months after their internal investigation began.
“The department of athletics, the Ralphie handler program and all administrative offices have fully followed [the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance] recommendations consistently with campus policy and in accordance with federal Title IX regulations,” said Steve Hurlbert, CU Boulder’s chief spokesperson. “Including those that limit a university’s ability to take punitive action against an accused student until the investigative and hearing processes are concluded.”
All current Ralphie handlers declined to speak to reporters on the record or did not respond to requests for comment.
Criminal charges and an allegation of sexual harassment
A current CU Boulder student alleges Pieper raped her on Sept. 26, 2022. She reported the alleged incident to the CU Boulder Police Department and Office of Victim Assistance two days later, according to people familiar with the investigation. OIEC officials contacted the student the next day.
Pieper was arrested on Dec. 2, 2022. He made his initial appearance in court the same day and was later officially charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual contact, according to court records. His attorney, Richard Bednarski, said Pieper pled not guilty to the charges.
All three counts state Pieper used force or violence during the alleged assault.
If convicted on all three counts, Pieper could face a maximum of life in prison or life on parole.
Separately, another CU Boulder student said Pieper sexually harassed her a few weeks before the alleged sexual assault. She said he pinned her to a wall and attempted to forcefully kiss her. She said he later would yell for her and knock on her dorm room door for weeks. She met with representatives from OIEC to discuss the allegations on Sept. 28, 2022, according to records reviewed by reporters and people familiar with the investigation.
“I was scared to walk alone anywhere in my dorm,” she said.
The student declined to pursue a formal OIEC investigation or press any criminal charges against Pieper. She said that if the university kept Pieper away from her, she felt no need to go any further than report the incident.
“Brennan did not commit the acts he is being accused of and believes the truth will come out and he will be vindicated,” said Bednarski, Pieper’s attorney. Pieper did not respond to requests for comment.
Both students obtained university no-contact orders against Pieper, preventing him from interacting with them on campus or at university-sponsored events. The woman who said Pieper sexually assaulted her also got a court protection order against him the day he was arrested.
In mid-October 2022, the university removed Pieper from his dorm room. The move was a preliminary action that separated him from the woman who alleges he assaulted her while the investigation continued.
“Preliminary sanctions are meant to be interim measures to ensure that an investigation can be conducted without interference … they’re not meant to expel students without due process or create undue hardship on students,” said Matthew Haltzman, a Fort Collins-based Title IX attorney who has worked on cases involving CU Boulder.
According to people familiar with the investigation, university officials moved Pieper into a different dorm building and he continued living on campus.
Applications for the 2022-2023 Ralphie handler team closed on Oct. 30 that year, less than two weeks after Pieper was removed from his dorm, according to the CU athletics website.
“He ruined [living in the dorm] for me for a while until he moved out,” the student who alleges Pieper harassed her said.
A portion of the official complaint against Pieper filed on Dec. 6, 2022.
Ralphie handlers face a rigorous application process
Pieper joined the Ralphie handler team in late November 2022, according to the university. He was one of six students to make the team out of about 90 applicants.
To qualify for the team, applicants are subject to background checks. Top contenders enter the final interview stage, which – according to a person familiar with the process – involves senior runners on the team and coaches.
“OIEC notifies the athletics department of allegations against a student-athlete as expeditiously as possible, but there is no fixed timeline,” Hurlbert, the CU Boulder spokesperson, said in a statement. “Background checks are conducted by a third party. An arrest would likely appear on a criminal background check if it occurred prior to the check being conducted.”
Hurlbert did not answer when asked if an applicant could be immediately disqualified for pending criminal charges or ongoing investigations. Pieper was criminally charged after he joined the team, but criminal and university investigations into the alleged misconduct had been ongoing for almost two months prior.
Since becoming a handler, Pieper has run at football games and appeared with the team at the pre-game parade — the Stampede.
Pieper has participated as a full member of the team at all mandatory and optional events at “his discretion,” according to Hurlbert. That includes team workouts and practices, gamedays, team appearances and trainings.
Campus policy and federal law prevent staff and coaches from stopping people accused of sexual misconduct from participating in campus activities like athletics.
However, according to OIEC policy, the university may remove someone accused of sexual misconduct on an “emergency basis” if it determines there is an immediate threat to the physical health or safety of any individuals arising from an investigation.
In two recent cases, the university has taken steps to remove athletes accused of misconduct from campus during the investigative process. In 2015, another Ralphie handler was convicted of sexually assaulting a fellow student. He was suspended by the university. In 2023, a football player was “separated from the team” and barred from coming to campus after being accused of misconduct by 14 women.
Hurlbert, the university spokesperson, said OIEC assesses each case individually and never compares one case to another, even if they may seem similar.
“Any protective actions while an investigation is ongoing are based upon an individual risk assessment,” he said in a statement.
Once the OIEC investigation is complete, representatives hold a hearing to determine if the person accused of assault would be held responsible. It’s only after this hearing, which is separate from a criminal trial, that the university could permanently suspend or expel a student.
“The campus will hold off to some degree on their investigation because they could hinder the law enforcement investigation,” said Brie Franklin, the executive director for the advocacy group Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “Because the law enforcement and criminal justice response has a much higher threshold for finding someone guilty, they have to have much better evidence and a much better investigative process.”
On Feb. 5, 15 months after starting their investigation, university officials held a hearing on the alleged sexual assault. To date, the university has not made any decision based on that hearing.
Pieper’s jury trial, originally set for late February, is now scheduled to begin on July 29. He is still listed on the Ralphie handler team roster.
Lucy Adlen and Kiara DeMare contributed to this story.
Contact CU Independent Special Investigations Editor Henry Larson at henry.larson@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent Managing Editor Jessi Sachs at jessica.sachs@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent News Editor Ann Marie Vanderveen at ann.vanderveen@colorado.edu.
