ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A Saudi man who is a convicted sex offender and spent nearly two decades in prison was released from jail earlier this week and is now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is expected to be deported.
Homaidan al-Turki, 56, was convicted in 2006 of crimes related to holding his Indonesian-born housekeeper as a sex slave and repeatedly molesting her between 2000 and 2004. The charges included false imprisonment, unlawful sexual contact, extortion and theft.
Al-Turki was also investigated while in prison in connection to the 2013 murder of Tom Clements, who was the Colorado Department of Corrections executive director, according to our partners at The Denver Post.
- Denver7 Chief Investigator Tony Kovaleski spoke with Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley about the case. Watch his report in the video player below:
Clements was shot by Evan Ebel on his front doorstep March 19, 2013 in Monument. Ebel was linked to the 211 Crew, a white supremacist prison gang that investigators believed may have planned the assassination. Ebel was killed a few days later in a shootout with authorities in Texas.
Al-Turki denied involvement in planning the killing.
Al-Turki has filed several motions with the court, including a recent one alleging that his defense counsel did not adequately represent him at trial.
Before an Arapahoe County judge ruled on that motion, he accepted a resolution where al-Turki would plead guilty to 11 amended charges. He was immediately resentenced to six years in prison and a mandatory parole that has already been covered by his 19 years in prison.
Ryan Brackley, 18th Judicial District deputy district attorney, spoke exclusively with Denver7 Investigates on Thursday and said it was a "very, very tough decision," to agree to amend the charges against al-Turki. Ultimately, he said that al-Turki was held accountable.
"His crimes were egregious," Brackley said. "He essentially kept a young woman in his house and sexually molested her."
In 2006, al-Turki was convicted on 18 counts that included false imprisonment, unlawful sexual contact, extortion and theft. He was sentenced to six years to life in prison and first became parole eligible in 2011. However, he did not participate in the Department of Corrections’ sex-offender treatment program.
The 2006 verdict remains intact for four of the counts, according to the district attorney's office.
Al-Turki maintained his innocence regarding his crimes, previously stating that he was targeted because of his Muslim religion in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. ICE posted on social media on Friday that he was questioned in 2001 about the 9/11 attacks.
Brackley said he understands if there are people in the community unhappy with this decision. Ultimately, he said that al-Turki was held accountable.
"There are always folks in our community who are not happy with decisions one way or another," Brackley said. "It was a tough decision. It was one that we had to balance all of the interests, first and foremost public safety. We know today that Mr. al-Turki a sex offender and he has been removed from our country after due process, after serving a 19-year sentence."
In a timeline released on Friday, ICE said al-Turki entered the United States in 1992, left the following year, came back and lawfully entered the U.S. in 1994 and left at an unknown time before he lawfully returned in 2002.
