Court also imposes five years of intensive sex-offender probation
By Roger M. Rael
The Raton Range
PUEBLO, Colo. — A former Pueblo police officer convicted by a jury of three counts of sexual exploitation of a child was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail.
Gerardo Mejia also received five years of Sex Offender Intensive Supervised Probation on each count, according to Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The probation terms will run concurrently. Mejia must also complete 250 hours of community service.
Mejia was arrested Jan. 30, 2025, after the Pueblo Police Department learned that the FBI was investigating him and had obtained an arrest warrant. The FBI and Colorado Springs Police Department carried out the arrest.
Mejia resigned from the Pueblo Police Department shortly afterward. He had served with the department for approximately two years.
A jury convicted Mejia on all three counts in May. His punishment was therefore imposed following a jury trial—not through a plea bargain. Because the case was filed in El Paso County, it was prosecuted by the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office and sentenced there Wednesday.
Although Mejia worked in Pueblo, Pueblo County District Attorney Kala Beauvais and the 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office did not prosecute his case. The 4th Judicial District, led by District Attorney Michael Allen, serves El Paso and Teller counties.
The 90-day jail sentence is likely to draw public scrutiny because Mejia was a sworn law enforcement officer entrusted with protecting the community. However, the complete sentencing order and the judge’s stated reasons would need to be reviewed before determining how the court arrived at the punishment.
A separate case remains pending against former Pueblo County sheriff’s deputy Andrew Ward. Ward faces 15 felony counts, including sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and sexual exploitation of a child. The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office said investigators identified two alleged victims and discovered what it described as a “substantial and extensive volume” of child sexual abuse material.
No publicly verified evidence currently connects Ward’s case to Mejia’s investigation. Ward’s charges remain allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted.
This report is based on information from Colorado’s 4th Judicial District, the Pueblo Police Department and reporting by The Pueblo Chieftain, KRDO and KKTV
