A 57-year-old man has been sentenced to 576 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child and fleeing the state.
, a jury verdict, in April 2010 while he was free on bond, according to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office media release.
He was sentenced today after being extradited back to Colorado from Detroit, where Michigan authorities and the U.S. Marshal’s Office captured him while he was living in a basement apartment.
In 2005, Heeringa had relocated to Colorado to resume a relationship with a woman and he began molesting her 12-year-old daughter, prosecutors said. Heeringa abused the victim until he moved out of her home in 2007. The victim came forward several months later.
“A habitual offender, Heeringa’s victims from previous sex assault cases testified and described similar behavior and patterns of abuse,” the release said.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
