Man accused of Colorado school kidnapping attempt could have charges dropped, but he won’t be set free
By Gabriela Vidal
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COLORADO (KCNC) — Charges could be dropped against a man accused of trying to kidnap an 11-year-old boy from a playground at an Aurora elementary school, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be released.
Solomon Galligan, 34, was arrested in April 2024 after allegedly walking onto the playground at Black Forest Hills Elementary School and attempting to grab a student, according to police. Galligan is a registered sex offender.
The incident outraged parents, some of whom said the school failed to do enough to protect children. One of those parents, Brooke Maltarich, said her son had been playing on the playground just minutes before the attempted abduction.
“For me, it’s been anger,” Maltarich said. “He’s supposed to feel safe and he had just left the playground minutes before this gentleman walked on the playground.”
Galligan’s family told CBS News Colorado that more mental health resources are needed to help people like him.
This isn’t the first time charges against Galligan could be dismissed. If this case is dropped, it would be the fourth time since 2018 that a Colorado court has dismissed charges against him due to a finding of mental incompetence to stand trial.
A spokesperson for the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office said state law prohibits prosecutors from taking a case to trial when a defendant is found incompetent to proceed.
Leora Joseph, director of Colorado’s Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health, explained that competency refers to whether someone is mentally capable of understanding what’s happening in court due to a serious mental illness.
“Prior law provided that before a finding of permanent incompetence to proceed could be made, there needed to be four prior ‘incompetent to proceed’ findings,” she said.
But a new law passed in 2024 requires judges to dismiss cases like this much sooner.
“The new law doesn’t allow for multiple findings of permanent incompetence,” Joseph continued.
According to the DA’s office, Galligan will be civilly committed to a mental health facility after this case is dismissed. But state officials say they have limited control over how long someone can remain committed.
“Civil commitment is a medical standard; a standard that says ‘dangerous to self or others as a result of mental illness or gravely disabled as a result of mental illness,'” Joseph said. “Once a person is no danger to self or others, we cannot keep people like that in the state hospital.”
As of now, no final decision has been made in Galligan’s case. A court date originally scheduled for July 25 has been vacated. The judge has given prosecutors until July 28 to respond to the defense’s motion to dismiss.
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