A registered sex offender featured on Longmont’s online police site volunteered to babysit a 9-year-old boy for free and then molested the child, officials say.
Frank James Gutierrez, 62, was arrested Monday at 10:30 p.m. for investigation of sexual assault by a person in a position of trust, said Craig Earhart, detective commander of the Longmont Police Department.
The mother called police after she returned home from work and caught Gutierrez sexually assaulting her son in the living room of her apartment, Earhart said.
Gutierrez first registered as a sex offender with Longmont police in November 2005 and has kept his registration current, he said.
He was convicted in 1990 of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl in San Diego and had been accused of molesting other children, Earhart said.
A few months ago, Gutierrez befriended the single-parent mom and her son, he said.
“He built their trust over the course of months,” Earhart said. “He was the friendly next-door neighbor who had done a lot of things for the family. He offered to babysit for free when she needed to go to work.”
Gutierrez had watched the child about eight or nine times, he said. Authorities are talking to the boy to find out if Gutierrez had molested him previously, Earhart said.
Gutierrez is currently in custody at Boulder County Jail.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
