Jury convicts former Mexican officer of sexually assaulting Aurora woman

DENVER – An Arapahoe County jury on Wednesday found a Mexican former law enforcement officer guilty on seven counts related to his breaking into an Aurora apartment and sexually assaulting a woman in October 2016.

Ricardo Corral-Venegas, 26, was convicted of six felony counts that include several sex assault counts, burglary and kidnapping. He also received a sentence enhancer for using a weapon in a violent crime.

Police say Corral-Venegas broke into an apartment at the Santana Ridge Condominiums on South Geneva Way on Oct. 4, 2016, and sexually assaulted the woman inside.

Police had said that he also tried to force his way into another woman’s apartment at the same complex, but that woman was able to fight him off.

Corral-Venegas is a former police officer wanted for numerous sexual assaults in Chihuahua, Mexico, according to an arrest affidavit. A Mexican newspaper reports that Corral-Venegas allegedly used a motorcycle and posed as a courier when he allegedly sexually attacked his victims in Mexico.

Corral-Venegas told Aurora investigators that he was a four-year veteran police officer who quit because of personality problems and indicated a possible dual personality, the affidavit for his arrest said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 21 next year. His bond has been set at $1.5 million for the time being, according to online court records.