Former Aurora Colorado Police Officer Gets 3 Years For Sexually Assaulting Teen

DENVER -- A former Aurora police officer involved with a kids' anti-drug program and who pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a child was sentenced to 90 days in jail Thursday.

The judge gave Michael Mangino a three-year sentence, which was stayed for five years on the condition that he serve 90 days in county jail immediately and complete a Sex Offender Management Board treatment program, said Krista Flannigan of the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

Chief Deputy District Attorney J.P. Moore said,"Mangino took advantage of his position as a police officer"

"The violation of trust was beyond the victim, the violation also extended to the Aurora Police Department and the community," Moore said.

Aurora police arrested Mangino last year on allegations that he took sexually explicit photos of a 15-year-old runaway who had been arrested. He later resigned.

Mangino had been an officer for DARE, or Drug Awareness Resistance Education.

A 29-year veteran of the Aurora Police Department, Mangino plead guilty to coercing a 15-year-old female runaway to take sexually explicit photos of herself with his cellphone.

When police officers confiscated that cellphone from Mangino, detectives found it also contained photos and videos of Mangino engaging in sex with women, possibly while on duty, Police Chief Dan Oates told 7NEWS in September.

Mangino, worked as a community resource officer in District 1, was also a DARE instructor in several elementary schools.

In one of the videos found on Mangino's phone, the camera focuses on the buttocks of a young girl in a DARE class as she was bending over a table in a classroom, according to the arrest affidavit.

According to the arrest affidavit, another teenager, a runaway from San Francisco, was contacted by Aurora police officers on March 9. Mangino was asked to take her to jail.

After she was fingerprinted, she told Mangino that she had smoked marijuana four hours before. He then drove her to The Children's Hospital so she could be medically cleared before she could be booked at the juvenile detention center, the affidavit said.

On the way to the hospital, Mangino asked her to take a photo of herself with his Android phone because he said he takes photos of everyone he arrests, she told detectives.

Then, while waiting by the emergency room, Mangino "strongly hinted" for her to take pictures in the bathroom and even told her which body parts to photograph, according to the arrest affidavit.

She did as she was told and took a handful of photos of herself partially undressed, and then completely naked in the bathroom at the hospital.

When she handed his cellphone back to him, he asked if he was "going to be surprised," but didn't look at the pictures right away, she said.

On the drive to the juvenile facility, she said he handed her some Cheetos because she was hungry and told her he would take her out to lunch when she was released, "free and clear."

He then handed her his business card and asked her to call him when she was out, according to the affidavit.

When she returned to the home for runaways, she told a counselor that she took photos of herself for a police officer. When asked if she thought this was abnormal, she said "no," that she has done that at least twice before, although she was not certain during the other two times if the officers involved were really officers or police impersonators.

She said she did what Mangino told her to do because he was "nice to her, not handcuffing her and giving her chips to eat."

Aurora Police Chief Daniel J. Oates called Mangino "perverse" and "he insulted and offended all the wonderful men and women of this agency. His violation of trust caused great harm to our community, making it harder for the most vulnerable victims to trust the police. He has now gotten the jail time and sexual offender status he deserves."