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Watch VideoSouthern Colorado's most wanted predators
Story By: James Jarman
Source: KOAA
There are roughly a hundred warrants out for convicted sex offenders in the cities of Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Warrants for ex-cons who failed to register with law enforcement, and now officers and the victims don't know where the predators are.
Research shows if the community helps keep an eye on them and helps them re-integrate back into society, then the sex offenders are less likely to re-offend. But when offenders don't follow the rules and go underground is when they can be the most dangerous.
"To hear that now they're off the radar, that's pretty scary," said Tammi Pitzen, lead family support advocate for Safe Passage, an advocacy group that works closely with sex assault victims.
She says many victims re-live the nightmare of their attack when the offender disappears doesn't register as required by law. "They don't want to go to school because what if he shows up at the school, they don't want to go to the grocery store or to the football game or to any of these things that would be in the community because they're afraid that that person will be there," she said.
Safe Passage hopes you'll help law enforcement find the predators who've failed to register and that's something law enforcement would also like.
"A crucial element is of course is the public," said Sergeant Bret Wilson, Pueblo Police Special Victims Unit, "we need the public's help when managing a registered sex offender, so that's why you see so much information on websites about who they are and what they've committed."
Colorado Springs Police Sergeant Bill Dehart agrees, and reminds the public that theyare part of the sex offender management system. "The biggest thing is, the citizens know more than we do, they know their neighborhoods, they know each other, they have so much more information that they can provide in finding these folks, and ultimately the goal is safety, it's about safety," he said.
Research shows that keeping track of of the predators helps keep them honest. "With an offender that has absconded, we know that that offender has already committed a crime, there is a strong possibility based on research that they may re-offend," said Dehart.
Colorado Springs and Pueblo police gave News First Investigates their top targets, including where the most wanted fugitives last lived. With the public's help, we want to try to help bring these offenders back into compliance and keep the victims from suffering more than already have.
"And so hopefully as a community that will be a priority for us that we can hold these guys accountable and make sure they're registering and when they're not registering looking for them," said Pitzen.
Southern Colorado's Most Wanted
Colorado Springs Sex Offender Data
Pueblo County Sex Offender Data
Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Colorado Sex Offender Management Board
Center for Sex Offender Management
