Golden – As part of his sentence for a sexually graphic Internet chat with someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl, former Colorado radio personality Scott Cortelyou must register as a sex offender.
But questions lingered Tuesday about how long the 53-year-old Conifer resident must remain on the register.
Initially, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office said Cortelyou could petition to be taken off the registry 10 years after his probation ends, but a legal change this year may put Cortelyou on the list indefinitely.
His attorney, Craig Silverman, said he didn’t have a definitive answer as to how long Cortelyou remains on the register.
“Lord knows there are some dangerous sex offenders in the world; Scott Cortelyou is not one of them,” Silverman said. “This is a good man who made a mistake.”
Silverman noted two court assessments found Cortelyou is not a sexual predator and termed him a low to moderate risk of re-offending.
Cortelyou, who pleaded guilty in April to Internet luring and attempted Internet sexual exploitation of a child, was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months of intensive supervised probation.
“This is not the microphone that I prefer to be behind,” Cortelyou told the court as he apologized for his “folly” and accepted responsibility.
Cortelyou was the host of the KRCN “Business for Breakfast” show. He once worked at KOA, KHOW, KIMN and KKRN.
An investigation of Cortelyou began last August, and he was arrested in January on suspicion of having online conversations with a 47-year-old undercover officer who posed as a minor.
“There was no victim in the courtroom. It was a sex offense without sex,” said Silverman, noting Cortelyou refused the officer’s requests to meet.
Silverman said Cortelyou was “humiliated and shamed” to also be charged with similar counts in Larimer County when it was the same officer who was in two jurisdictions during the online chats. The Larimer County charges were dropped.
Jefferson County District Judge Jack Berryhill instructed Cortelyou to work out a computer-use agreement in response to Cortelyou’s request to get back on the Internet. Cortelyou, who has been barred from being online since his arrest, said he needed access “to make some sort of living.”
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
