A Broomfield man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for making sexual contact without consent and for providing drugs to minors who worked for his construction company, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
Steven A. Contee, 43, pleaded to the charges last October as part of a plea agreement. He was originally charged with multiple counts of human trafficking of minors and an adult and possession of a weapon by a previous offender, according to online court records.
"There is no work more important than combating the exploitation and victimization of children," said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider. "With the sentencing of Steven Contee, the FBI has removed a child predator from our community. We want to thank our local and state law enforcement partners, as well as From Silenced to Saved, a non-governmental organization, for their excellent work on this case.”
Contee was arrested in March 2020. An investigation into his actions found he lured homeless boys to work for his construction company, give them drugs and then commercially sexually exploit them, according to the district attorney's office.
An impact statement provided by one of Contee's victims was read outlaid by an advocate during the sentence hearing on Tuesday.
"I saw how he targeted us, he would use drugs to manipulate... he would focus us into things that were awful and we all complied because if you don't do as Steve says, there (are) always violent consequences," the statement read. "Ideally, I would like three life sentences for the three lives he messed up. I know this isn't possible, but he deserves it."
Following Contee's release from prison in 2042, he must register as a sex offender, according to the district attorney's office.
The investigation was overseen by the district attorney's office in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
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