Judge Detains Colorado Man On Attempted Child Sex Charges
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Colorado man will remain jailed while a federal grand jury weighs charges that he tried to hire a Cheyenne teenager for sex, a judge ruled Friday.
U.S. Magistrate Kelly Rankin of Cheyenne on Friday denied a request from a lawyer representing Leif Bjorn Jourgensen of Ft. Collins, Colorado, that he be released from custody.
A criminal complaint charges Jourgensen, 31, with attempted enticement of a minor and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Conviction could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Jim Barrett, a federal public defender representing Jourgensen, asked the judge to release his client while the case is pending, allowing Jourgensen to continue to work. He said Jourgensen had been arrested at his home in Colorado and hadn't tried to flee despite knowing that Wyoming law enforcement was searching for him.
Federal prosecutor Thomas Szott urged that Jourgensen remain locked up, saying he poses a risk to children. Rankin ordered Jourgensen detained.
The criminal complaint charges that Jourgensen posted an online advertisement in Wyoming on April 14 seeking to hire a girl to perform a sex act.
The complaint states the following:
— A law enforcement investigator responded to Jourgensen's advertisement and identified himself as a 14-year-old girl. Jourgensen offered to pay the girl $400 for sex and arranged a meeting at a store on Cheyenne's south side on April 15.
— Agents with the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force approached Jourgensen after he arrived at the store but he sped away in his Dodge pickup. He drove through red lights and stop signs and drove at more than 50 miles per hour through a mobile home park as police pursued him.
— Jourgensen abandoned his truck at the Frontier Refinery in Cheyenne. He later hitched a ride from the refinery to a local restaurant. He borrowed the restaurant manager's phone to call for a ride. Investigators later identified the phone number he called as belonging to sprinkler service and cleaning businesses operated by Jourgensen and his wife.
— Investigators identified Jourgensen from surveillance camera images at the restaurant.
Court records state that federal marshals arrested Jourgensen at his home in Ft. Collins on Tuesday, eight days after abandoning his pickup truck in Wyoming.
Jourgensen on Friday gave up his right to have a preliminary hearing at which Rankin could have weighed whether the government's case was strong enough to merit keeping him in custody.
Rankin said the matter will now head to a federal grand jury.
By BEN NEARY, Associated Press
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