Number of child predator cases stuns investigators
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Douglas County authorities say they use undercover decoys, AI-assisted investigations and sting operations to identify suspected child predators before they reach actual minors.
Why it matters: It's working.
- Prosecutors say their results suggest investigators are uncovering suspects who otherwise might have gone undetected.
A 23rd Judicial District sting this April in Douglas County generated 10 criminal cases in just two days.
- Investigators received hundreds of responses after posting online ads posing as 14-year-old girls.
- Five men showed up to a hotel expecting to meet a minor for sex, and investigators established probable cause for five additional criminal cases.
State of play: The district's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force has made five arrests and served three search warrants since expanding its unit in January.
- Its work also helped shape a Colorado law signed this month that cracks down on adults who lure children online or seek to buy sex from them.
What they're saying: "I honestly never thought we'd get this many people," Abby Hegarty, the 23rd Judicial District's senior deputy district attorney, tells Axios.
How it works: Investigators received training from a human-trafficking rescue group before launching their undercover operations.
- The team creates online profiles posing as minors, use AI-generated images to appear younger and wait for adults to initiate conversations.
- Hegarty, who oversees the unit, reviews texts and social media messages to ensure suspects know the purported child's age and that potential cases don't become entrapment.
Between the lines: "Instead of [suspects] finding real kids, they're finding real detectives," District Attorney George Brauchler says.
The task force includes three full-time detectives from Douglas County, Castle Rock and Parker agencies, plus a prosecutor, a part-time investigator and a civilian analyst.
- Last year — with one Douglas County Sheriff's Office investigator — the 23rd Judicial District filed 14 cases in the county.
What we're hearing: The typical suspect is a middle-age white man with children.
- Parker, Denver and Colorado Springs are the "big three" areas many travel from, Hegarty says.
- Suspects use platforms such as Snapchat, Discord, Roblox and other social media apps popular with children and teens.
- Before the judicial district's ICAC expanded, undercover child-exploitation investigations last year in Lincoln County generated 42 cases from suspects across the state.
What's next: Brauchler says he could ask for additional resources as his judicial district's caseload grows.
- "If we had a bunch of [investigators] out there doing nothing but this, I think we could probably keep them busy every day," he says.