"Giggles" the Grand Junction Clown Advised of Sex Charges

Antonio Eric Lazcano of Grand Junction appeared in Otero County Court Thursday, May 10, 2007 on charges of Internet Luring of a Child, and Enticement of a Child. Lazcano, also known as "Giggles the Clown" posted profiles at several prominent internet sites designed for social networking.

The 29 year old male from Grand Junction was well known in his area, and had previously worked as a clown at the Farmer's Market Festival in Grand Junction, in addition to working as a clown at childrens' birthday parties.

A current listing at an adult networking site similar to myspace identifies Lazcano as bisexual. He specifically states he is interested in "young sweet [expletive ommitted]." The last logged activity on the site was at 1:22 a.m. on April 30, 2007. The adult site also featured photos of Lazcano and identified his yearly income as near $30,000.

Judge M. Jon Kolomitz of the 16th Judicial District presided over the case where Public Defender Raymond Torrez appeared to represent Lazcano, and Rodney Fouracre appeared as the prosecuting attorney. Formal charges were brought against Lazcano, including one count of Criminal Attempt to Commit Sexual Assault on a Child, one count of Internet Luring of a Child with Intent to Exploit, as well as a monumental four counts of Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child.

The charges against Lazcano could send him to prison for the rest of his natural life. Internet Luring of a Child is a relatively new law which carries a two year to life sentence. The charge also requires that Lazcano be on parole or probation a minimum of ten years if convicted.

Torrez requested a personal recognizance bond for his client, detailing Lazcano's ties to the state of Colorado, and making note of Lazcano's employment at a Wal-Mart in Grand Junction. In light of the severity of charges brought against him, In leiu of a pr bond, Torrez asked that bond be reduced to $3,000 saying "I don't even think my client could post a $3,000 bond."

Judge Kolomitz denied to grant a personal recognizance bond, but did lower the bond amount from $5,000 dollars to $3,000 dollars. Torrez had stated in his request that he didn't believe Lazcano could post even a $3,000 dollar bond. As a condition of bond, Judge Kolomitz ordered that Lazcano was to "have no access to the internet, or use a computer connected to the internet system."

Lazcano is set to appear for a pre-trial conference on June 19, at 8:30 a.m. The closed door conference will be a sit down talk between the defense and the prosecution.