Pueblo West corrections officer arrested in Florida sting targeting alleged sex predators

A Pueblo West corrections officer has been arrested as part of a nationwide investigation into alleged sexual predators after authorities in Polk County, Florida, say he had sexually explicit conversations and sent an explicit image to an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl.

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Justin Sturtevant, 45, of Pueblo West, was arrested on suspicion of three felonies: criminal use of a two-way communication device, transmission of harmful material to a minor and use of a computer to solicit a child for sex.

Sturtevant is employed as a corrections officer with the Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City but has been placed on administrative leave “during the appropriate human resources process,” Colorado Department of Corrections spokesperson Annie Skinner told the Chieftain.

On Feb. 6, Sturtevant allegedly engaged in an online conversation on a social networking site with the undercover agent, who the sheriff’s office said told Sturtevant “several times” the person he was speaking to was only 14 years old.

Sturtevant allegedly sent a sexually explicit image to the detective and “instigated sexually explicit conversations.”

At a Feb. 26 press conference announcing the arrest of Sturtevant and 29 other suspects from across the country, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said when Colorado authorities contacted Sturtevant, he denied the charges and was “blaming it on his 18-year-old son.”

Sturevant was arrested in Colorado and booked into the Pueblo County Detention Center but bonded out Wednesday on a $5,000 cash or surety bond, according to Pueblo County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Gayle Perez.

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In arrest documents obtained by Chieftain news partner KRDO News Channel 13, the Florida sheriff’s office alleges Sturtevant was using the username “funguy0175” on a social media site and messaged the undercover detective posing as a juvenile girl, asking if she was “curious about sexual stuff.”

He continued to make sexually explicit comments and inquiries including comments about having sex, KRDO reported.

The sheriff's office alleges Sturtevant sent an explicit photo of his genitals and repeatedly asked the undercover detective to send him one in return. The detective eventually terminated the conversation.

At the Feb. 26 press conference, Judd seemed confounded by the fact Sturtevant — who Skinner told the Chieftain has been employed with the state DOC since 2001 — was a corrections officer.

“What’s interesting about this is he is a corrections officer for the state of Colorado. That’s right, he’s a correction officer. Did you hear what I said?” Judd asked.

“And he’s having unlawful communication and thinking he’s grooming a 14-year-old female and he is mailing pictures of his junk to her. Turns out it’s our undercover detective.”

Judd also mentioned in the press conference that Sturtevant had a past criminal record.

“So at the end of the day we find out that he has a criminal arrest history. Did you hear me? Did you hear what I said? He is a member of the Colorado state corrections system as an officer and he has an arrest history … and he’s online committing crimes, felonies, in the state of Florida."

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According to Colorado court records, Sturtevant was arrested at least four times from 2005 to 2022 on misdemeanor charges ranging from harassment to third-degree assault, but none of those cases were felonies and all were dismissed.

Current job listings for Colorado corrections officers stipulate that a candidate must “be 18 years of age, have no felony convictions or domestic violence history, and possess a valid, unrestricted driver's license.”

Skinner, with the CDOC, did not answer specific questions asked by the Chieftain about Sturtevant's employment history, but said generally speaking, all staff members go through background checks prior to gaining employment with the CDOC that include a review of their individual history.

She also said if a staff member is arrested and charged with a felony while employed by the CDOC, "an internal investigation would take place and there is a human resources process per state personnel rules that would determine the appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including possible termination."

The Florida sting, dubbed "Operation Child Protector III," was a two-week investigation involving several Florida law enforcement agencies and was "focused on sexual predators who target children and convicted sexual predators and offenders who are required to comply with Florida's registration law," according to a Polk County Sheriff's Office news release.

The operation resulted in the arrest of 30 suspects from across the country who face a combined 75 felony and two misdemeanor charges ranging from failure to register as a sex offender to traveling to meet a minor for sex.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime

Chieftain editor Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com or on Twitter @ZachHillstrom.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo West corrections officer arrested in nationwide sex crime sting