In most states, the age of consent is 16 or 17; only 12 states, the age is 18. The victim was convicted in California, one of the 12 states where the AoC is 18. The age of consent in Colorado is 17; however, there exists in the legislation close-in-age exceptions, which allow those aged 15 and 16 to engage in acts with those less than ten years older and those less than 15 to engage in acts with those less than four years older. A 17-year-old may not, however, consent to sex with a person who is in a position of trust with respect to the person under the age of eighteen. C.R.S. 18-3-405.3
Has the victim had this relationship in Colorado, he would not have been required to register. But under Colorado law, registration was required for any offense registrable in conviction jurisdiction OR would be a registrable offense in Colorado. CRS §16-22-103(3)
Thus, Daxcimo Ceja was murdered for an act that is completely legal in Colorado.
Woman with ‘unrestrained hatred’ for child predators killed, dismembered alleged wanted sex offender, prosecutor says
By Aspen Andrews and Akim Powell
Published: Aug. 24, 2024 at 6:39 PM CDT
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV/Gray News) - A Colorado woman who had an ‘unrestrained hatred’ for child predators will spend the rest of her life behind bars after she killed and dismembered an alleged wanted sex offender.
Authorities said 38-year-old Deka Simmons was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a two-year-long murder investigation.
In April 2022, Simmons was initially arrested for the murder of 48-year-old Daxcimo Ceja. His body had not been recovered at the time.
A year later, police received an anonymous tip about human remains being in a bag inside a drainage ditch. Officials positively identified the human remains as those of Ceja, KKTV reported.
Simmons was charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, violent crime with a weapon, violent crime causing death, tampering with physical evidence and tampering with a deceased human body.
Prosecutor Sharon Flaherty said in closing arguments that Simmons killed Ceja because he was a registered sex offender who had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl when he was 25, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.
Ceja had a warrant out for his arrest for failing to register as a sex offender when he was killed, the outlet reported.
“(Simmons) has an unrestrained hatred for anyone who would molest a child,” Flaherty said.
Police said Simmons shot Ceja in a garage, dismembered his body, and stored it in a freezer before moving the remains in a van.
Officials linked Simmons to the murder through DNA from blood in the garage, the paper reported.
Simmons was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, an additional 24 years for tampering with a deceased body, and three more years for tampering with physical evidence.
...Flaherty described Simmons during closing arguments as a woman with an obsession over child molestation due to fears that her daughter was a victim of sex trafficking.
“(Simmons) has an unrestrained hatred for anyone who would molest a child,” Flaherty said, going on to describe it as a “fixation” and “paranoia” for Simmons....
...The prosecution during its closing argument highlighted numerous text threads between Simmons and others that, according to the prosecution, directly implicate her in the shooting. Viehman said in rebuttal that several witnesses claimed Simmons would later “brag” about killing Ceja...."
