AURORA | A convicted child sex offender who eluded federal and local police and courts for eight years has been captured in Mexico and returned to Arapahoe County to face sentencing, law enforcement officials said Monday.
David Anthony Jaramillo, 38, was arrested Aug. 23 in León, Mexico, by the FBI’s Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, according to Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ginger Delgado. He was flown to Harris County, Texas and extradited to Denver Sept. 8.
He is now being held at the Arapahoe County jail.
Jaramillo pleaded guilty in June 2017 to sexual exploitation of a child, a felony, but he failed to appear for his sentencing hearing two months later, Delgado said. Investigators say they think he has been living in Mexico since 2022.
His arrest followed a three-month investigation led by an FBI agent who reopened the case with support from an Arapahoe County task force officer.
“This case shows that no matter how long you run, you can’t hide forever,” 18th Judicial District Attorney Amy Padden said in a statement. “I commend Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown and his team, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for their persistence and determination to bring this child predator back to face the consequences of his actions.”
The case started in 2016 when Jaramillo contacted a Denver police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl on the social media platform MeetMe.com. Authorities said Jaramillo repeatedly solicited “Lizzie,” the undercover officer, for sex, and drove to a fast-food restaurant in Aurora to meet her.
He was arrested at the scene by Aurora police and members of the FBI Innocence Lost Task Force, police said.
In addition to his Arapahoe County conviction, Jaramillo faces pending charges in Weld County for felony menacing, assault and child abuse, and in Jefferson County for child prostitution, sexual assault on a child and internet luring of a child.
Brown said the arrest “sends a clear message: Those who prey on children and try to evade justice will eventually be found.”
Jaramillo awaits sentencing in Arapahoe County and prosecution of his outstanding cases in Jefferson and Weld counties.
Thank you, law enforcement personnel, for catching him.
How did they find him in Mexico? Would that not be very difficult to accomplish?
How many children in Mexico has he assaulted?