BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — Three men have been arrested in Longmont and face attempted human trafficking charges after a multi-agency investigation.
According to the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, on March 27 and 28, the office's Human Trafficking Unit began an operation at a Longmont hotel, along with multiple other agencies, including Homeland Security, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Longmont Police Department, Aurora Police Department and the Boulder County Computer Forensics Lab.
The operation was focused on identifying and arresting the adults who had responded to commercial sex advertisements that included minor children, ages 12 and 14. Members of the operation had posted fake advertisements and responded to requests from suspected predators seeking to have sex with the children, according to an arrest affidavit for one of the men.
When authorities arrived at the Candlewood Suites hotel, which is located along the 1300 block of Dry Creek Drive in Longmont, on the evening of March 28, they arrested three men.
Jesse Ryan Spink, 39, was under the impression that he was to meet up with a 14-year-old girl at the hotel, and that he would pay $120, according to his arrest affidavit. Officers arrested him without incident at a hotel room.
In addition, Diego Lopez-Jiminez, 28, and Christian Quinones, 36, were arrested. Denver7 has not yet obtained their arrest affidavits.
All three have been charged with criminal attempt to commit human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude and criminal attempt to commit sexual assault on a child. The first charge is a class 3 felony, and the second is a class 5 felony.
Spink and Lopez-Jiminez are due in court Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Quinones is due in court Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
Covered Colorado is sounding the alarm about a lack of safe housing for human trafficking survivors. The organization is working to open a shelter in order to fill the gap. Read our story here, or watch the video below.
The district attorney's office is asking anybody with additional information on this case to contact District Attorney Senior Investigator Edna Munoz at 303-441-1355 or District Attorney Senior Investigator Adam String at 303-441-3687. Both of them specialize in human trafficking cases, the district attorney's office said.
“The purpose of this Human Trafficking Operation was to stop people who were willing, and attempted, to exploit children. These arrests are a direct result of outstanding efforts and teamwork of the investigators and our partners," District Attorney Michael Dougherty said. "We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the safety of our youth and fighting for the right results in these cases.”
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 888-373-7888. You can also text "INFO" to 233733. The hotline is open 24/7.
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