CENTENNIAL | A former Cherry Hills Village police officer living in Aurora was convicted by an Arapahoe County jury Friday of felony child sexual exploitation.
Former Cherry Hills Village police Detective Jerry Stinnett, 65, was found guilty on two felony counts stemming from a 2020 investigation into videos he was accused of uploading to computer servers and shared, according to officials from the 18th Judicial District Attorney office.
“Perpetrators of these kinds of crimes need to know they can’t hide behind screens,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Joel Zink, according to a statement released by the district attorney. “Each unthinkable image and video circulated online signifies yet another child subjected to horrific victimization.”
The investigation began in July 2020 when Stinnett’s internet service provider, Yahoo, reported that a user had uploaded and shared child pornography.
“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children obtained an IP address from Yahoo! and was able to pinpoint the computer’s location in Colorado,” officials stated.
A Colorado Springs child-crime task force won a subpoena for specific information from IP service providers and tracked it to Stinnett’s Aurora home.
The case was then turned over to Aurora police, which obtained a search warrant.
“Multiple computers, tablets and cell phones were confiscated,” the DA office reported. “During a search of the devices, detectives found three dozen sexually explicit images and videos of underage boys and girls.”
Investigators said Stinnett “worked in law enforcement for 2 decades prior to retiring in 2013.”
In 2010, Cherry Hills Village Police Department said in an annual report that Stinnett was promoted to detective.
Stinnett now faces up to six years in prison and must register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for July 5.
“Regardless of this defendant’s past law enforcement connections, we do not give special treatment to offenders who break the law,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “He was entrusted by his community for many years as an officer, which makes his actions behind closed doors even more egregious.”