Sexually violent predator moves to Delta

DELTA — Delta County residents didn’t mince words after a public meeting concerning sexually violent predator Leonires Duran, who’s moved in next door to a young girl and near a bus route.

“I wish to hell he was somewhere else,” resident John Brush said after the meeting Thursday night. Brush lives on property adjoining the acreage where Duran, recently paroled from the prison at Ft. Lyons for a 2000 sex offense, has parked a camping trailer.

Duran’s trailer doesn’t have a formal physical address. It was described as being a half-mile east of Delta County 2000 Road, on the north side of E Road — where school buses pass.

Brush wanted to know why, if Duran was staying on 40 acres, he’d been allowed to position the trailer within spitting distance of a neighbor with a young daughter.

And he wasn’t alone. That neighbor said he wanted the trailer moved. “I don’t like it one bit,” John Hobbs told the Daily Press.

“It sounds to me like they have more rights than we do,” added another 2000 Road resident, Teddy L. Baker.

According to Montrose Combined Court records, Duran, now 51, was arrested in Olathe in 2000 on suspicion of multiple counts of sexual assault on a child. These included an allegation he’d used force. He ultimately pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child as a class-5 felony, agreeing there was sufficient cause for an aggravated sentence.

Duran was sentenced in 2003 to seven years in prison, with the court finding aggravated circumstances. He was paroled after serving half his time. He is required to register as a sex offender.

Because he met various statutory criteria and because of the outcome of a pre-release evaluation, Duran was designated a sexually violent predator, or SVP. (See sidebar). The designation is not a description of an individual’s actual offenses.

At the standing-room only meeting, Delta County Sheriff’s Office representatives, state authorities and Duran’s parole officer, Duane Robinson, explained some of the requirements to which Duran is subject.

He is on GPS monitoring for the duration of his two-year parole, has a curfew; cannot be around children under 18, including at public places such as the library, or even retail stores. He cannot associate with anyone who has a criminal record; he may not own a computer or have Internet access. Because Duran does not have a license, his mobility is restricted.

“Practically speaking, if he doesn’t have a driver’s license and can’t drive, why isn’t he someplace where there are buses and taxis?” 2000 Road resident Mark Collins said after the meeting.

Collins said Duran, who has a bicycle, could easily encounter children on the remote road, and there wouldn’t necessarily be anyone to see it. “Why did they let him go somewhere totally away from civilization when he has no car?”

In addition to monitoring, Duran also has to undergo a rigorous treatment plan and his treatment provider told the crowd there would be zero tolerance for any failure on his part to comply.

“We can tell exactly where he is and where he’s been,” Robinson said. “He knows that he can’t get away with anything.”

Debbie Stjernholm of the state sex offender management board pointed out that harassment, in addition to being prosecutable, could actually backfire by driving Duran underground. She also said it was in the community’s best interest that he have a job and a place to live for the same reasons, and that Duran knows he will be under intense scrutiny.

“The most dangerous offenders ... are the ones that have never gotten caught,” Stjernholm said.

“If he’s not successfully managed, he’s going to reoffend,” DCSO Det. Duane Morton said. Like it or not, he added, SVPs and other sex offenders have to live somewhere. “There’s going to be someone nearby who’s not going to be happy.”

Morton said what many attendees already knew: School buses pass right in front of Duran’s dwelling, which is just on the other side of the fence from the Hobbses.

Duran will have to stay inside his trailer whenever the school buses are running.

“There’s really no direction where a sex offender can live,” Morton said in response to written questions.

The panel later referred to statistics from other states, which regulate how close an offender can live to a school or similar facility. In these states, roughly half of offenders fail to register and drop off the radar — increasing the risk to communities.

Delta Police Chief Robert Thomas said everyone needed to work together.

“You need to be the eyes and ears,” he said. “We won’t (necessarily) know if you don’t call us.”

Residents can report suspected parole violations by calling (800) 426-9143.

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SVP Designation:

A person is considered a sexually violent predator, or SVP, when the following conditions are met:

—18 or older at the time of the offense or tried as an adult for the offense

—Crime committed on or before July 1, 1997

—Convicted on or after July 1, 1999

—Be either a stranger to the victim or have established or promoted a relationship primarily for the purpose of victimization and having at least one of the conditions established by a risk assessment instrument.

That instrument, administered by the probation or parole staff and a treatment provider, assesses such things as the presence of a mental abnormality, presence of sexually deviant interests, level of denial regarding the offense and treatment appropriateness and motivation.

Info: Colorado's sex offender registry list at http://sor.state.co.us

National Sex Offender Registry: www.nsopr.gov