Jury returns guilty verdicts in Internet crimes case

  CANON CITY — A Jury returned four guilty verdicts Thursday in an Internet Crimes Against Children case involving a former law enforcement officer.

   Todd Vecellio, 40, of Colorado Springs was found guilty of felony conspiracy to commit sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, solicitation to commit sexual assault on a child, attempted sexual assault on a child and attempted enticement of a child.

    A jury of eight men and four women deliberated for 7 hours over two days before returning the verdicts.

   Vecellio was arrested Sept. 24, 2008, in front of a Penrose Kwik Stop, by Fremont County Combined Investigative Response Team officers.

   Authorities allege Vecellio thought he was meeting a mother for the purpose of a sexual liaison with both her and her 13-year-old daughter, as a culmination of about a month's worth of Internet, text and phone conversations with an undercover Canon City police officer working for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

  Canon City police have generated close to 50 criminal Internet Crimes Against Children cases since the program started in 2004.

   "Given the quality of the investigative work, we are able to secure convictions — through plea agreements or trial — on 99.9 percent of these cases," said District Attorney Thom LeDoux.

   Vecellio remains free on a $25,000 cash bail bond pending his Jan. 14 sentencing.

   "I am very reluctantly permitting you to stay out on bond," District Judge David Thorson told Vecellio.

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