Twelve Years To Life In Prison, Three Year Suspension

A recent sanction reported on the web page of the Colorado Presiding Disciplinary Judge

The Presiding Disciplinary Judge found the parties’ stipulation to discipline to be consistent with the considerations governing imposition of disciplinary sanctions and issued an opinion approving the stipulation. Matthew Z. Krob (attorney registration number 44886) is suspended from the practice of law for three years. Krob’s suspension took effect on December 31, 2024.

On May 17, 2024, in Douglas County District Court, a jury found Krob guilty of the crimes of sexual assault—no consent, a class-four felony; two charges of sexual contact—no consent—force/threat, a class-four felony; sexual assault—overcome victim’s will, a class-four felony; second-degree assault—strangulation, a class-four felony; third-degree assault—knowing/recklessly caused injury, a class-one misdemeanor; and telephone—obstruct service, a class-one misdemeanor.

Based on Krob’s convictions, the Colorado Supreme Court suspended his license to practice law on an interim basis on July 9, 2024. On August 27, 2024, the criminal court sentenced Krob to detention in the Department of Corrections for a period of twelve years to life. In addition, Krob’s mandatory parole runs ten years to life, and Krob must register as a sex offender.

Krob’s convictions were predicated on a criminal episode between Krob and his then-spouse. During the episode, Krob violated C.R.S. sections 18-3-402(1)(a) (providing in pertinent part, “Any actor who knowingly inflicts sexual intrusion or sexual penetration on a victim commits sexual assault if . . . [t]he actor causes sexual intrusion or sexual penetration knowing the victim does not consent.”); 18-3-404(1)(a) (providing in pertinent part, “Any actor who knowingly subjects a victim to any sexual contact commits unlawful sexual contact if . . . [t]he actor knows that the victim does not consent.”); 18-3-204(1)(a) (providing in pertinent part, “A person commits the crime of assault in the third degree if . . . [t]he person knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another person or with criminal negligence the person causes bodily injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon.”); 18-3-203(1)(i) (providing in pertinent part, “A person commits the crime of assault in the second degree if . . . [w]ith the intent to cause bodily injury, he or she applies
sufficient pressure to impede or restrict the breathing or circulation of the blood of another person by applying such pressure to the neck or by blocking the nose or mouth of the other person and thereby causes bodily injury.”); and 18-9-306.5 (providing in pertinent part, “A person commits obstruction of telephone or telegraph service if the person knowingly prevents, obstructs, or delays, by any means whatsoever, the sending, transmission, conveyance, or delivery in this state of any message, communication, or report by or through any telegraph or telephone line, wire, cable, or other facility or any cordless, wireless, electronic, mechanical, or other device.”).

KRDO reported

A Douglas County Judge sentenced Matthew Krob to 12 years to life. Krob was previously found guilty on seven charges concerning a sexual assault at a resort in Larkspur in 2022.

Krob is the former town attorney in Florence and Palmer Lake. He was fired in Florence in March 2022 after a city hall sexual harassment scandal was uncovered by KRDO13 Investigates.

Krob’s victims told the court there were “no words to describe the devastation,” and “the sounds from that night will never leave [them].”

Krob’s family told the court they had never seen anything close to the actions described in the previous trial and said Matthew Krob had high character.

After a five-day trial in May of 2024, the jury found Krob a verdict of guilty on charges of felony sexual contact – no consent, third-degree assault, obstructing telephone service, and felony second-degree assault was returned by a jury.

The DA’s office dismissed two counts of misdemeanor child abuse Krob was originally charged with.

The Judge found Krob uneligible for an appeal bond but noted Krob’s appeal was not frivolous.

From Law & Crime

The sentence stems from a sexual assault at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Larkspur — a location in a nationwide chain of cabin, camping and RV park resorts near the Pike-San Isabel National Forest; due west of Colorado Springs — that occurred on Nov. 20, 2022.

Police received a 911 call around 4 a.m. on the night in question — someone was crying on the other end of the phone and details were hard to come by, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Tribune, a paper serving Colorado’s Tri-Lakes region. The call was quickly disconnected. When dispatchers called back, someone else answered but swiftly hung up; additional callbacks went to voicemail.

Douglas County deputies responded to a cabin at the cartoon-themed resort park, according to the affidavit. Inside the cabin, the caller was found with blood on their chest. The crimson-colored, telltale signs of violence also covered the bed. The victim told deputies that Krob had sexually assaulted them after an argument earlier that night.

The way the victim felt about the attack, and how they will remember the pain, was made clear this week — along with additional details. And, as it turns out, there was reportedly at least one additional victim.

In impact statements, Krob’s victims said they were kept prisoner and tortured for hours, according to a courtroom report by Colorado Springs-based ABC affiliate KRDO. The victims told the judge during the sentencing hearing they have “no words to describe the devastation,” and that “the sounds from that night will never leave.”

The since-condemned man was silent during the hearing.

Krob’s brother and father, who is also a lawyer, spoke on his behalf — saying the allegations from the sexual assault trial are like nothing they ever heard or knew to be true about their close family member, and trying to extol him as a person of high character.

Now, Krob will spend 12 years behind bars, at the very least, before he is eligible for parole.

The ignominious fall from grace caps several years of work in various publicly-funded attorney jobs throughout the Mile High State.

(Mike Frisch)