A Longmont man accused of renting out a hotel room in Boulder to have sex with an underage teen was sentenced to prison followed by probation on Monday.
Jason Alan Elvey, 44, pleaded guilty in August to sexual exploitation of a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of a controlled substance.
On Monday, Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvahill sentenced Elvey to six years in prison followed by eight years of sex offender intensive supervised probation. The probation sentence will also carry a work release component, which Mulvahill felt would help Elvey’s transition from prison back into the community because of the “extremely egregious” nature of the case.
“On top of that you have Mr. Elvey’s criminal history, which is substantial, and you also have his prior terrible compliance with community supervision and bond on this case,” Mulvahill said.
Elvey failed to appear for his first scheduled sentencing hearing, prompting Boulder Deputy District Attorney McKenna Mayfield on Monday to ask for eight years in prison.
“He was an adult preying on a young, vulnerable child,” Mayfield said. Mayfield also noted this would be Elvey’s sixth felony and that he had a history of noncompliance on probation and bond.
“He’s been given every opportunity to take advantage of treatment programs and has failed to comply with those,” Mayfield said.
Attorneys had previously agreed on a cap of six years in prison, but Mayfield said Elvey’s failure to appear violated the plea agreement.
Mulvahill ruled Elvey’s failure to appear did violate the agreement, but overruled defense attorney April Coleman’s request for a continuance since Mulvahill said he would not exceed the six-year cap when sentencing.
But Coleman also objected to the sex offense probation aspect of the sentence, noting that when plea negotiations took place such a sentence was illegal and Elvey was not advised it was a possibility.
But Mulvahill said that not only was the sentence legal, it was needed after a pre-sentence investigation found Elvey was at a high risk to sexually reoffend.
“It would be irresponsible to simply have you transition to parole,” Mulvahill said.
According to an arrest report, police noticed a “suspicious vehicle” near Folsom Drive and Valmont Road on 11:33 p.m. April 29, 2020. Officers saw the vehicle fail to properly stop at a red light, and pulled the vehicle over in the parking lot of a Best Western Inn, 770 28th St.
The officers found Elvey in the driver’s seat and a 16-year-old girl in the passenger’s seat. Upon further questioning, the teen then admitted she and Elvey had met up on two previous occasions at the hotel to have sex.
“I would like to apologize to the victim in this case and anyone else that was affected negatively by my decisions,” Elvey said.
Coleman said Elvey had a severe drug addiction and “clearly made bad choices.” But Coleman said if Elvey could stay clean, he had a chance at being a productive member of the community.
“His mind was so addled by drugs, he could not think clearly and he did something that, were he sober and thinking clearly, he would have never done,” Coleman said.
Elvey said that since being in jail, he has had a chance to get sober and “let my mind clear up.”
Mulvahill warned Elvey that backsliding again on probation would likely land him back in prison.
“I don’t know if it’s going to work,” Mulvahill said of treatment. “It’s going to be up to you.”
