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Former Granby Police officer sentenced in ‘sexting’ case

Sky-Hi News staff report
Granby, CO Colorado

A former Granby Police officer who was convicted in May of engaging in “sexting” with a 16-year-old Middle Park High School girl was sentenced on Friday to 90 days in jail and five years in an intensive sex offender supervision program.

Jose Sanchez, 36, was also ordered to pay $15,654.90 in fines and costs, according to his sentencing order.

Sanchez met the victim in fall 2010 when he responded to a police call at her school, according to court documents, which indicate that during the ensuing two months Sanchez and the teen developed a texting relationship that evolved into sending sexually explicit photos of each other and provocative text messages.



Through a court order to acquire phone records, the Granby Police Department found that as many as 8,600 texts were exchanged between Sanchez and the teen during a period of about 56 days.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation interviews led to Sanchez’ arrest on Dec. 15, 2010, the same day Sanchez was fired from the Granby Police Department for “violating police department policies.”



Sanchez pleaded not guilty to the charges, but in May a jury found him guilty on four counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

The verdict was based on two charges of Class 3 felonies that Sanchez knowingly caused the victim to send naked photos of herself, a potential sentence of four to 12 years incarceration on each count, and two counts of Class 6 felonies for possessing the photos, each of which carries a potential sentence of one year to 18 months.

The sentencing order for Sanchez shows he was ordered to serve four 90-day jail terms, concurrently, with credit for one day served. The order also specifies 24 conditions of the sex offender supervision program to which he was sentenced for five years.

In addition to being ordered to comply with recommendations of an adult mental health sex offense-specific evaluation and parental risk assessment, the 24 provisions order Sanchez:

• To register as a Colorado sex offender, including with local law enforcement within five days of moving to any new jurisdiction;

• To have no contact with any children under the age of 18, including his own children;

• To discuss during his subsequent treatment session any inadvertent contact that may have occurred with a minor;

• To not reside in a residence with any children, including his own children, unless order to do so by the court;

• To have no contact whatsoever with the victim and to refrain from traveling past or loitering near the residence of the victim;

• To stay away from parks, schools, playgrounds and other areas that children frequent;

• To refrain from dating or marrying anyone with children younger than 18;

• To receive prior approval from his probation officer before changing residences;

• To abide by any curfew his probation office might impose;

• To pay for all evaluations ordered by the court or probation;

• To refrain from possessing or consuming alcohol;

• To refrain from obtaining internet service or using anyone else’s internet service without permission from his probation officer and to permit searches of his computers and other electronic devices;

• To not possess any vision-enhancing devices, cameras or video recording devices.


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