Police searching for former Colorado sheriff's deputy accused of child sexual exploitation

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is leading a search for a former San Miguel County sheriff's deputy after investigators say the deputy was in possession of 27 videos of child sexual abuse materials.

Jesus Damian Nieblas, 28, resigned from the sheriff's office in late June, before CBI started its investigation, the bureau said in a statement. State investigators served a search warrant on Nieblas' home in Norwood on July 10 and say they found 27 child sexual abuse videos.

Investigators have not been able to locate Nieblas and there's now a warrant out for his arrest on the following charges:

• 1 count of sexual exploitation of a child, a class 3 felony
• 11 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, a class 4 felony
• 16 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, a class 5 felony
• 27 counts of persons required to report child abuse or neglect, a misdemeanor

Police don't believe Nieblas is still in San Miguel County, in southwestern Colorado, and don't believe any children in San Miguel County were victims of Nieblas' alleged crimes.

Nieblas worked as a code enforcement officer with the Telluride Marshal's Office before being hired by the San Miguel Sheriff's Office on Aug. 1, 2020 as a patrol deputy, according to a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

He served as a school resource officer for the Norwood School District but was removed from that position for "misuse of his Taser in front of several students while horseplaying with an adult friend (wrestling coach at the school), the spokeswoman said.

The sheriff's office said it learned about CBI's investigation on June 25 -- the same day Nieblas submitted his resignation letter. The sheriff's office said that once San Miguel Sheriff Dan Covault learned that one of its deputies was accused of a crime, he alerted CBI, which launched an investigation.

"These alleged crimes are clearly serious and disturbing to all of us who worked with Mr. Nieblas. We support the CBI's efforts in their investigation and will wait until he has his day in court to be able to have closure on this situation," Covault said in a statement. "The Sheriff's Office is committed to transparency, integrity and the highest of moral standards. Criminal activity or unethical behavior will not be tolerated, and we will address any of these issues directly and decisively."   

Anyone with information about Nieblas' whereabouts is asked to call CBI Special Agent Caroline Keevey at 970-248-7500.