Boulder County, Colo. - Following the tragic death of a fifteen-year-old child, law enforcement and prosecutors launched an extensive investigation into what led to the death. The investigation started after the fifteen-year-old child fell from a crane at a construction site. University of Colorado Police Department investigated the death because the death occurred on University of Colorado property. The CU Police Department, the Boulder County Drug Task Force, and District Attorney’s Office worked together to thoroughly investigate the death and surrounding circumstances.

As a result of the initial investigation, law enforcement identified Benjamin Harmon as the person who distributed drugs (psilocybin) to the child. The initial charges included DF1 Distribution of a Controlled Substance to Minor in connection with providing the mushrooms prior to the boy’s death, as well as a DF1 Attempted Distribution of a Controlled Substance to Minor because the defendant showed up to sell to the same minor again on a deal that law enforcement set up using the deceased minor’s cellphone. Following this initial arrest, the investigation continued.

The District Attorney’s Office presented the investigation to the Grand Jury and, as a result, moved the case forward. The Grand Jury investigation confirmed that Benjamin Harmon distributed psilocybin to the child. Also, because of the investigation, additional victims were discovered and identified. After obtaining Benjamin Harmon’s social media and bank account records, investigators located nineteen (19) other child victims to whom Benjamin Harmon distributed drugs, including one who Benjamin Harmon sexually assaulted, and one from whom Benjamin Harmon obtained child sexual abuse materials.

After being indicted by the Grand Jury, Benjamin Harmon was arrested on October 19, 2024.

The indictment charged the defendant with forty counts, including twenty-one drug felonies for distributing psilocybin (mushrooms) to minors (some of the distribution took place within one-thousand feet of a school), sexual assault on a child using force, sexual exploitation of a child, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor for providing marijuana and alcohol to minors.

All the victims were high school students in Boulder County.

“The CU Boulder Police Department would like to thank the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office for its rigorous pursuit of justice in this case,” said CUPD Chief Ashley Griffin. “CUPD is committed to protecting our campus and surrounding community, and we will continue working tirelessly with our partners to ensure that those who exploit and harm others are held fully accountable.”

The District Attorney’s Office worked very closely with the victims and families who were willing to cooperate with the prosecution of the case (some were unable to do so). As a result of their courage and resilience throughout this process, the District Attorney’s Office secured a lengthy state prison sentence.

Today, Benjamin Harmon pled guilty to two counts of Distribution of a Controlled Substance to a Minor – Schedule I or II (DF1), Sexual Exploitation of a Child (F3), and Criminal Attempt to Commit Money Laundering (F4) and was sentenced to thirty-five (35) years in the Department of Corrections.

District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated, “The teenager who died was loved by his family and friends. He had his whole life in front of him, until the defendant began preying upon him and other high school kids. Although this guilty plea and sentence is what the family wanted from the criminal case, the outcome will never fill the void caused by this defendant. I want to thank the law enforcement and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to advance this investigation. But for their efforts, this criminal prosecution would never have happened; it would have been classified as a tragic fall. Because of them, the true nature and depth of the defendant’s conduct was discovered and he was brought to justice.”