Man accused of distributing psilocybin mushrooms to minors and sexually assaulting teen

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday afternoon that they have arrested a man who was indicted by a grand jury on 40 counts.

According to court documents, Benjamin Harmon, 24, was arrested on Saturday on charges related to distributing psilocybin mushrooms to minors, and sexually assaulting a teen. 

He is charged with:

• 21 counts of drug felonies for distributing psilocybin mushrooms to minors, with some distribution being within 1,000 feet of a school
• One count of sexual assault on a child using force
• One count of sexual exploitation of a child
• 16 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, including providing marijuana and alcohol to them
• One count of money laundering 

Prosecutors said the investigation started after a 15-year-old child fell from a crane at a construction site after ingesting mushrooms that Harmon distributed to him. The mushrooms caused strong hallucinogenic effects for the boy. The teen died on June 20, just three days after Harmon met up with him in a parking lot at North Boulder Park to sell him the mushrooms, according to the indictment.

The University of Colorado Police Department investigated the death because it happened on their property, according to a media release. The CU Police Department, the Boulder County Drug Task Force and the district attorney’s office worked together to investigate the death and surrounding circumstances.

The initial charges against Harmon were distribution of a controlled substance to a minor for providing the mushrooms to the teen prior to his death, along with attempted distribution of a controlled substance to a minor because Harmon showed up to sell to the teen again on a deal set up using the 15-year-old’s phone, according to the media release.

Following the arrest, the investigation continued. 

After investigators obtained Harmon’s social media and bank account records, they located at least 19 other child victims that Harmon distributed drugs to, the district attorney’s office said. Prosecutors said Harmon is accused of sexually assaulting one of them at gunpoint and obtaining child sexual abuse materials from another.

According to the indictment, Harmon used Snapchat to contact the minors and posted menus for drugs with amounts and corresponding prices.

All the victims in the indictment are high school students in Boulder County and all the parents have been notified of the investigation, the district attorney’s office said.  

However, officials believe there may be other victims. If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault perpetrated by Harmon, they encourage you to call CUPD’s non-emergency number at 303-492-6666 and reference case number 2024-1101.