Grand Junction – A local man known as “Giggles the Clown” at the Farmer’s Market Festival is facing multiple charges after he allegedly attempted to use the Internet to lure a minor into having sex, authorities said.
Police arrested Antonio Eric Lazcano, 29, on a warrant from Otero County.
He’s accused of enticement, Internet luring, Internet sexual exploitation and obscenity.
A Rocky Ford mother discovered a photograph of a nude man in her daughter’s e-mail account in November, prompting authorities from Otero County and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to investigate.
Police said they recorded sexual acts Lazcano sent by webcam to the girl’s mother – who later posed as her daughter – along with conversations about meeting for sex. Those conversations took place even after the woman told Lazcano, who used the screen name “Tony805,” that she was 12.
A Web profile page for Lazcano, under the name “gigglestheclown,” listed his hometown as Santa Maria, Calif.
Colorado Bureau of Investigation records indicate Lazcano was arrested twice in 2002 in Grand Junction, for alleged harassment and stalking.
The outcome of those cases was not immediately available.
Lazcano is being held in the Mesa County jail on $5,000 bail and is awaiting return to Otero County.
