Rape Suspect Assaulted Her at Jail, Teen Says
Officials admit 'error' after lodging girl with man charged in attacks
By Sarah Huntley, News Staff Writer
Originally published in the Rocky Mountain News, March 6, 2002
ARAPAHOE COUNTY — Suspected serial rapist Gerald DeWayne Lewis has been accused of sexually assaulting a fourth young girl in the unlikeliest of places: his jail cell.
A 16-year-old inmate at the Arapahoe County Detention Facility told her attorney that Lewis fondled her Thursday after the two were put in the same holding cell to await court hearings, sheriff's officials acknowledged Tuesday.
The incident was the result, Undersheriff Grayson Robinson said, of a blunder by two detention deputies who otherwise have "exemplary records."
The deputies were unaware that anyone—let alone Lewis, who is suspected of molesting a 16-year-old baby sitter at a Denver church and raping two students at Arapahoe County schools in January—was in the cell.
Lewis, 34, apparently was sleeping underneath a bunk and had pulled a blanket over the side of the bed to block out the lights and noise, Robinson said.
"We made an error," Robinson said, "and we are taking steps to ensure that this never happens again."
Lewis has been behind bars since Jan. 19 when he was arrested and later charged in connection with an assault at Grace United Methodist Church earlier that month. He is also the key suspect in rapes at Rangeview Middle School and West Middle School.
A judge was so concerned about Lewis' potential for harming other girls, he set bail at $10 million and ordered the suspect to have no contact with juveniles.
"I'm just kind of flabbergasted," said Karmen Carter, executive director of the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program in Denver.
"I understand that errors happen all the time and that they have a lot of people coming and going," Carter said. "But it seems to me there ought to be checks and balances. … Considering what has happened with this whole case, you'd think they would know where he is."
Sheriff's officials plan to charge Lewis with third-degree sexual assault and were in the final stages of an internal affairs investigation Tuesday. The deputies involved face likely discipline and authorities are discussing policy changes, Robinson said.
Among the questions being asked: Why didn't deputies check under the bunk before putting the teen-ager in the cell, and why wasn't the contact discovered earlier?
Officials have determined that the girl, whose name has not been released, was alone with Lewis from 9:15 to 9:55 a.m. Thursday. The deputies who returned to transport her to court for her hearing still did not realize Lewis was in the cell, Robinson said.
Authorities learned of the allegations only after the girl arrived in court and confided in her lawyer, Robinson said.
Deputies immediately checked the cell and found Lewis huddled under the bed. He had been transferred from the Denver County Jail earlier that morning in preparation for a hearing on theft, forgery, assault and fugitive charges filed against him last fall.
Surveillance video checked later showed the girl and Lewis having a "lengthy conversation," Robinson said.
There is no footage of the alleged fondling, but the undersheriff said there is a "minute or more" when the two were out of view of the camera. Lewis declined to talk to investigators.
"We have no reason not to believe her," Robinson said.
Although cameras record activity in the holding area, they are not constantly monitored, Robinson said.
Denver police Lt. Gary Lauricella, who oversees the sex crime investigators working the church case, called the incident "absolutely incredible."
But Lauricella also said Lewis' alleged conduct does not surprise him.
"A predator is going to take advantage of any situation he can," Lauricella said. "If someone like Gerald Lewis had the opportunity, he would take it."
