BOULDER, Colo. — Boulder County authorities arrested a sex offender on Monday after he was accused of stealing women's underwear from four campus residence halls.
The University of Colorado Boulder Police Department partnered with other law enforcement agencies to arrest 33-year-old Nicholas Joseph Lorenzo.
Detectives from multiple agencies tracked the man down as he was flying back to Colorado. He was arrested at the Denver International Airport.
CU police said they suspect that Lorenzo broke into the Aden, Brackett, Cockerell and Crosman residence halls on CU Boulder’s campus in October and stole women’s underwear from the laundry room. He is a registered sex offender.
CU Boulder police said they also believe Lorenzo is involved in an incident in Broomfield from Nov. 23, where an adult male brushed up against a young girl and inappropriately touched her while she was shopping at a store.
Broomfield police and CU detectives determined the suspect in both these cases was the same person.
Lorenzo has been charged with 18 counts of burglary, four counts of theft, three counts of trespassing and one count of invasion of privacy.
CU Boulder Police Chief Doreen Jokerst said the arrest came after weeks of hard work and thanks to a collaborative mindset between the agencies involved.
“The CU Boulder campus and our community are safer because of their diligence,” he said. “Our students need to feel safe on campus, and we will continue to work tirelessly toward that goal.”
Lorenzo was booked into the Denver County Jail following his arrest, and was transferred to the Boulder County Jail on Wednesday.
Evidence collected at his home indicates there may be more victims, according to CU Boulder police. It is unclear what that evidence was. Police encouraged anybody who thinks they may have been victim to a similar crime to call CU Boulder Police at 303-492-6666.
