Whitewater man arrested for sexual exploitation of child during undercover operation

WHITEWATER, Colo. (KKCO) – A man is in custody after he allegedly arranged to meet a young girl for sex over the internet. Instead, the girls turned out to be Mesa County Sheriff’s deputies conducting an undercover sting operation.

Richard Lemus, a 56-year-old man from Whitewater, was charged with multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child after his arrest by Mesa County police.

According to officers, Lemus believed he was chatting online with a 14-year-old girl who was in fact an adult police officer working undercover as an investigator for the sheriff’s office. He was immediately arrested.

Lemus is accused of the following:

• Luring a child via the internet for the purpose of sexual contact or exploitation
• Sexual exploitation of a child via the internet
• Criminal attempt
• Sexual abuse of a child

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