Arapahoe County – A 32-year-old man who passed himself off as a young teen so he could sexually assault children and teenagers showed no emotion Thursday as a judge read 63 guilty verdicts against him.
Zuri-Kye McGhee will be sentenced Oct. 30 and could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Jurors deliberated for two days, finding McGhee guilty of sexually assaulting 18 boys and one girl over a five-year span.
Ages of his victims ranged from 9 to 16. Some victims said McGhee assaulted them hundreds of times.
The six-woman, six-man jury cleared McGhee of two counts – a forgery charge and a charge of attempted sexual assault on a child.
McGhee’s defense attorney, Ted Stavish, did not make a statement after the verdict.
At least five of McGhee’s victims were in the courtroom Thursday with their parents, who dabbed away tears as the verdicts were read.
Parents and children alike believed the 5-foot-6, 130-pound McGhee was a young teen. He rode around Aurora on his bicycle, got kids to join workout groups, helped them with their homework, played video games and held sleepovers at his apartment that he said he shared with his uncle.
One family allowed McGhee to stay with them.
He even got into a fourth-grade classroom at Arkansas Elementary School in Aurora, passing himself off as a student.
“It’s the highest level of deception that we’ve ever seen,” said Deputy District Attorney Christine Schober.
“This guy was good,” said Aurora Detective Dean Ziegler. “I can’t fault any of the families for buying his story. He’s a salesman. … The streets are much safer with him off of them.”
Ziegler said there are more victims who haven’t come forward and may never do so.
“He’s hurt a whole lot of people,” said Deputy District Attorney Melissa Drazen-Smith. “He got himself ingrained in these families. He had access to these children. He betrayed their trust. He physically violated them. … It’s pretty scary to think that this man had all of this access to these kids and was able to get into their heads and take advantage of them.”
McGhee’s mother, Soldad McGhee, is charged with helping her son commit the crimes. Her case is still being prosecuted.
Zuri McGhee had escaped a similar prosecution in New Mexico, where in the late 1990s he was charged with 23 felony counts of criminal sexual contact with minors.
Those charges were dropped when he pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to court records. He served nearly a year in jail in that case.
He moved to Colorado in 1999, and prosecutors say he met his first victim in early 2000.
Family members watched as sheriff’s deputies handcuffed McGhee and walked him out of the courtroom. He didn’t speak or look at the gallery.
“He doesn’t have emotion,” Schober said. “He is a predator.”
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
