Suspected Colorado serial rapist under arrest in Denver area

A 22-year-old man who is believed to be a serial rapist in the Denver metro area is in custody and police have concerns that he may have committed crimes they don't know about. Jerricho Joseph Esquivel is from Thornton and is facing numerous charges in relation to two separate investigations from two years ago. In both cases the suspect was said to have had a gun.

The first crime was reported in 2022 in Adams County. It happened on Oct. 22 near the intersection of Acoma Way and Acoma Street. That's just outside the Thornton city limits. The other was reported a month later in Aurora on the 15400 block of East 13th Avenue. That attack allegedly happened on Nov. 21, 2022.

Investigators say both rapes were random. They say the suspect didn't know the victims.

"Given similarities of the two cases, investigators are concerned there could be more victims who either never reported they were assaulted or were attacked in another metro Denver city and reported the crime to their local police department," Aurora police wrote in a news release.

Police released a booking photo of Esquivel on Friday. They described his appearance -- white, 5-foot-3, 145 pounds -- in hopes that anyone else who might be a victim of his will contact them. They said he was 21 at the time of the 2022 crimes and was clean shaven. Investigators say other attacks may have taken place in the Denver metro area or somewhere else along Colorado's Front Range.

People who have information that might be helpful to the ongoing investigation surrounding Esquivel are asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers and reference Aurora Police Department case number AP22-321480 and Adams County Sheriff's Office case number 22-17108. The phone number for Crime Stoppers is 720.913.STOP (7867).

Esquivel is currently in custody in the Arapahoe County Jail.