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Daycare worker charged with sexually assaulting 6 young girls he watched
Joseph Renander shook his head as he was convicted Tuesday on 17 charges of sexually assaulting six young girls who attended day-care centers he operated.
Renander, 29, embraced his family before the verdict was read in Jefferson County District Court, but left the courtroom without looking at them as he was led away in handcuffs.
He faces a term of eight years to life in prison when he is sentenced June 9. He has another trial in June on charges of child pornography.
"He's a monster. I couldn't have asked for anything better," said a woman, whose daughter, now 8, was sexually assaulted when she was 5.
"This has destroyed her. She'll never be the same again," she said. Her daughter now has problems with men and had to be taken out of a gym class because the teacher was a man, she said.
"She's been so brave and wants to see him in jail," the woman said. "She told me this morning if they take him to jail, she wants to go out to dinner tonight."
The assaults on the six girls began in 2001 at a number of locations, including his home and the day-care centers he operated under the names Golden Beginnings in Lakewood and Precious Ones in Golden. Both centers are closed.
Renander battled to keep his centers licensed after first being accused of molesting a child in 2003. The case was investigated, but no charges were filed until last March, when more victims came forward.
Defense attorney David Juarez said his client was tried and convicted by the media. During the trial, Juarez said Renander was falsely accused and likened the case to the Salem Witch Trials.
"These are horrific charges, but the media and community reaction had him convicted long before the trial began," Juarez said, adding that Renander was prepared for the guilty verdicts. He said the convictions would be appealed.
"Justice was done today," said Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey.
During the trial, jurors heard about a journal Renander kept in February 2005 in which he discussed his fears of becoming a pedophile.
In one entry, Renander said, "It's the most frustrating thing in the world. I feel like a junkie. This is my fix. It feeds a sickness that I am trying desperately to get rid of. I would change if I could, but I do not know how."
Renander testified that he was studying pedophiles and child porn for a manual for parents on how to prevent child sexual abuse.
But prosecutor Lisa Skanga called it a manual for child molesters. She said the girls at his day-care centers were easy prey.
Prosecutor Kris Lorenz said: "Joseph Renander was the person given responsibility for the welfare and protecting children, and he violated that trust in ways no little girl should ever know. They trusted him, and he needed them to trust him so he could do these things to them."
Juarez said any contact Renander had with the girls was unintentional and by mistake. He contended the girls were coerced or coached into making statements.
He emphasized that five of the girls only made the allegations about conduct dating back to 2001 after Renander was arrested in March 2005.
A boyfriend of the mother of three of the girls was convicted in Elbert County earlier this year of sexually assaulting them, and Juarez said the girls were confused about who did what. But prosecutors and investigators said the girls had never been confused about what Renander did to them.
Renander was convicted on nine counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, three counts as a pattern of conduct and five counts of enticement of a child. He was acquitted on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of sexual assault.
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