Nearly two years after allegedly fleeing Mexico after he confessed to molesting his roommate's son, Andrew Vanderwal pleaded guilty to molesting two boys.
Vanderwal, 28, was set for a 10-day trial beginning Feb. 19 after initially pleading not guilty in September. On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to an amended count of sexual assault on a child younger than 15 by one in a position of trust, a Class 3 felony. The count refers to two alleged victims. One other count of sex assault on a child was dismissed as part of a plea agreement, and three others were dismissed at varying points in the case.
The case gained notoriety after Lydia Lerma, the mother of one of his alleged victims, traveled to Mexico in pursuit of Vanderwal and helped orchestrate his February 2018 arrest by the FBI.
Prior to his arrest, Vanderwal volunteered with churches and sports teams in Northern Colorado. According to FBI documents and accounts from family members of boys who came forward as victims, he established a pattern of gaining families' trust so he could spend time alone with young boys and molest them.
Read more at the Coloradoan: https://bit.ly/2C6s3rS