Police initially said that after being freed after a three-year sentence on Tuesday, Sept. 30, Lucas B. Keck, 25, would reside at the Ute Mountain Motel on South Broadway. On Friday, Oct. 10, Police Chief Roy Lane said that Keck was at a relative’s home at 618 E. Fourth St.
When Keck was released, Cortez Police Det. Jim Kingery had said, “We will notify the community if he relocates.”
Police were required to notify the community after Keck was determined by correction officials to be a high-risk offender.
Records show Keck was convicted in the 22nd Judicial District of attempted sexual assault on a child in February 2011. He was initially charged with three felony sex assault charges in connection to multiple incidents that occurred in January 2010.
Keck will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He’s barred from possessing any type of weapon and abusing alcohol or drugs. He’s also subject to intensive supervised probation, GPS monitoring and polygraph testing.
As of this week, there were 16,742 registered sex offenders in Colorado. Of those, 21 reside within the city limits of Cortez.
Officials warned citizens not to harass or threaten any convicted sex offender; adding criminal charges could be filed.
“Harassment is counterproductive,” said Kingery. “We don’t want them to go underground, because a stable offender equals increased community safety.”
Although there are no known cures for sex offenders, probation officials said new behavior skills could be learned allowing “some” sex offenders to be effectively monitored and managed in the community.
Statistics reveal that 4 in 5 sex crimes go unreported, 3 in 4 sex crimes are planned and 1 in 4 women are victims of sexual assault.
This story was updated on Oct. 13, 2014.