Colorado man turns himself in on charges of child sexual exploitation
A 33-year-old Colorado man has been arrested and now faces 20 counts of sexual exploitation of a child after a federal, state, and local law enforcement task force allegedly found child sexual abuse material depicting a child under 12 years old on his hard drive.
Michael Anthony Reyes, of Longmont, turned himself in at the Boulder County Jail on an arrest warrant on Friday, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said on Tuesday.
Boulder County officials were notified that an FBI agent received the material in question from someone in the Boulder area in an undercover operation.
Investigators say they served court orders for information from electronic service providers, identified Reyes as a suspect, and served a search warrant at his Longmont home on Sept. 3, 2024. They seized several electronic devices and sent them to the Regional Computer Forensic Lab for processing.
An arrest warrant was issued for Reyes on the 20 counts, which are considered a class 3 "extraordinary risk" felony, and days after turning himself in, he was released from the Boulder County Jail on a $20,000 secured bond on the condition that he not have contact with anyone under 18 and not access social media or cloud storage devices.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty touted the work of investigators while highlighting the problem of sex crimes against children.
"Since the Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab started working these investigations, three things have been made clear. First, there are individuals distributing and using child sexual abuse material in every community; so, we are fortunate to have this outstanding team pursuing these cases in Boulder County. Second, these cases involve actual victims because of what the videos depict. Finally, in this jurisdiction, the investigators and prosecutors will work hard to search out offenders, protect victims, and fight for justice," he said in a statement.
Court records show Reyes has not yet hired or been assigned an attorney as of Tuesday. He's due back in court on Aug. 28/
If you suspect a child is being sexually exploited online, you can report it online at NCMEC's CyberTipLine website or by calling 1-800-THE-LOST.
