ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A convicted sex offender from Colorado was captured in Mexico after eight years in the run, authorities in Arapahoe County said Monday.
David Anthony Jaramillo, 38, pleaded guilty on June 13, 2017, to one count of sexual exploitation of a child in Arapahoe County District Court and failed to appear for sentencing two months later, according to a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office.
He had been a fugitive ever since and was believed to be hiding in Mexico since 2022.
Jaramillo’s case dates back to 2016, when an undercover Denver police officer, posing as a teenage girl from Aurora, was contacted on MeetMe.com, a social media platform.
Prosecutors said Jaramillo started chatting with the undercover officer, whom he thought was "Lizzie," a 14-year-old teenager.
Authorities said Jaramillo told the undercover officer he was 21 years old and was looking for someone with whom to travel and have sex.
Prosecutors said Jaramillo continuously messaged "Lizzie" for sex, and he decided to drive to a local fast-food restaurant in Aurora to meet her.
Officers with the Aurora Police Department and members of the FBI Innocence Lost Task Force were waiting for him in the parking lot and when Jaramillo showed up, he was arrested and taken into custody without incident.
Prosecutors said that in addition to this case, Jaramillo also had active warrants in Weld County for felony menacing, assault, and child abuse; and in Jefferson County for child prostitution, sex assault on a child, and internet luring of a child.
Jaramillo was apprehended in the city of Leon, in the state of Guanajato, Mexico, on Aug. 23, 2025, according to the sheriff’s office, who said investigators spent three months working the case along with the FBI, who reopened the case.
The convicted sex offender was flown to Harris County in Texas a day later and he was extradited to Denver on Sept. 8, according to the sheriff’s offices spokesperson. He was later jailed at the Arapahoe County Detention Facility where he remains.
“This arrest sends a clear message: those who prey on children and try to evade justice will eventually be found,” said Arapahoe Sheriff Tyler Brown. “I want to thank the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the diligence of our deputy who serves on that Task Force, for making sure this predator is back where he belongs – in custody in Colorado to serve an appropriate sentence.”
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