Former Las Animas County Deputy Gets 27 Years for Attempted Child Assault

A former Las Animas County Sheriff’s deputy, Marcus Anthony Festi, received a 27-year prison sentence Tuesday after pleading guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child and child abuse causing serious bodily injury. The sentence, handed down in Las Animas County Third Judicial District Court, also includes three years of mandatory parole, lifetime sex offender registration, required sex offender treatment, and 295 days of credit for pre-sentence confinement.

Festi, 30, entered guilty pleas at his Oct. 27, 2025 arraignment to a class 5 felony for attempted sexual assault on a child and a class 3 felony for child abuse - knowingly or recklessly causing serious bodily injury. Prosecutors had originally filed numerous additional charges, including counts of sexual exploitation of a child and sexual assault; more than 130 additional charges were dismissed under the plea agreement. The court accepted the plea while noting reservations and the victim and family’s expressed desire to move forward.

The case arose after a multi-agency probe that began with a cyber tipline referral to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Festi was arrested April 1, 2025, following an investigation involving the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office, Trinidad Police Department, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI. The multi-jurisdictional response underscores how local, state, and federal agencies coordinated on an investigation with digital elements.

Visiting Judge Ryan Stewart, chief judge of the 23rd Judicial District, emphasized that Festi had abused a position of public trust by serving as a deputy charged with protecting youth. At sentencing, family members of both the defendant and the victim attended an emotional hearing. A letter from the victim and a second letter read by the victim’s mother were entered into the record. Festi made a brief apology and said he would seek help while incarcerated. Judge Stewart denied Festi’s motion to have contact with his daughter and half-sister.

For residents of Trinidad and Las Animas County, the case has immediate and longer-term implications. In the short term, the sentence removes an individual convicted of violent attempted child assault from the community and imposes treatment and registration conditions intended to manage risk after release. In the longer term, the prosecution and sentence raise questions about recruitment, supervision, and accountability within small-county law enforcement where deputies hold broad responsibilities and visibility in tight-knit communities.

The multi-agency investigation demonstrates existing mechanisms for outside oversight and coordination, but community leaders and law enforcement administrators will face pressure to explain personnel practices and to ensure transparency in investigations involving sworn officers. Restoring public confidence will depend on clear communication about policy changes, ongoing support for victims, and sustained oversight of officer conduct.

This sentence concludes a criminal case, but it leaves unresolved policy questions for Las Animas County about how local institutions prevent betrayal of public trust and how the county will safeguard children and rebuild confidence in local policing.