Former Colo. Officer Found Guilty in Internet Sex Sting

CANON CITY, Colo. --

A former small-town police chief and police officer at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs was found guilty in an internet sex case involving a woman and her 13-year-old daughter.

A jury found Todd Vecellio, 40, guilty of four felony counts in connection with the case involving the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Canon City, Colo.

Vecellio was arrested on Sept. 24, 2008 in front of a Penrose convenience store after driving from Colorado Springs. Prosecutors said he was there to meet a mother and teenage daughter for a sexual liaison with both of them.

The arrest culminated a month-long investigation involving Internet, text and phone conversations with an undercover police officer posing as the mother of the girl.

A jury of eight men and four women deliberated seven hours before finding Vecellio guilty of conspiracy to commit sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, solicitation to commit sexual assault on a child, attempted sexual assault on a child and attempted enticement of a child.

Vecellio is the former police chief in Calhan, Colo.

Testifying in his own defense, Vecellio told the jury he was working undercover when he was arrested.

"I was gathering information. If I got the information, I pass it on to someone because I can now ID her, I've got the location of the place of residence and I'm done with my involvement," Vecellio said. "I wanted to be the hero -- this was something happening in my backyard. I wasn't going anywhere in my job (as a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus patrol officer) and I thought if I did this, with the media attention, the university would have to do something or by doing that I could find a better job."

During his cross examination, Vecellio admitted to being terminated from the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department because he spanked the bare buttocks of his live-in girlfriend's daughter.

He also admitted to being fired from his job as Calhan police chief after receiving three reprimands.

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