A Utah man who strapped a cellphone to his foot to film videos under the skirts of women at City Market in Durango was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday.
“This is a harsh sentence,” said La Plata County Judge Martha Minot. “But I don’t believe for a second you’ll stop this. … You are a community safety risk, in my opinion.”
Verveen Dawes, 32, is from Montezuma Creek, Utah, but has ties to Farmington as well as La Plata and Montezuma counties. He pled guilty to an attempted invasion of privacy for sexual gratification and multiple counts of violations of a protection order.
In late August, Dawes was found trolling City Market, 6 Town Plaza, with a cellphone strapped to his foot while he stood behind unknowing women who were wearing skirts to record them. He is suspected of committing the same crime in other area stores.
On Wednesday, Judge Minot accepted a plea agreement to one case related to the incident that stipulated Dawes register as a sex offender for seven years and serve three years of supervised probation. He must also take sexual offender classes, pay fines and abstain from alcohol and drugs.
For a separate case related to the incident, Judge Minot found that Dawes’s extensive criminal past, and his history of substance abuse and record of failing to abide by court orders warranted jail time.
“I don’t do it lightly,” Judge Minot said. “But I’m hoping during your time in jail, a light goes off and you can change your behavior when you get out.”
Deputy District Attorney Daniel Butler said Dawes’s criminal history included domestic violence, assault charges, criminal mischief as well as a number of DUIs.
Despite Dawes’s previous pleas that he would improve his behavior, Butler said the Utah man continued to violate the law and failed to follow the directions of his probation. In this most recent sex crime, Butler said Dawes tracked down women “he found beautiful,” for the “adrenaline rush” of sexual gratification amplified by the risk of getting caught.
Butler said Dawes entered City Market – after he was ordered not to – four times over three days, at which time he had a GPS device attached to his ankle, knowing he was being monitored.
“This combination of violence and sex crimes against woman is troubling,” Butler said. “This is a frightening mentality.”
Ekin Van Winkle of Durango was a victim videotaped by Dawes as she shopped for groceries with her two kids, ages 4 and 6. Among the 22 “upskirt videos” police found, Van Winkle was the only victim identified.
It was later revealed Dawes followed Van Winkle on two separate occasions, one of which included Dawes standing in a parking lot outside the Durango woman’s workplace in Ignacio.
Speaking to Minot on Wednesday, Van Winkle asked that Dawes serve jail time so that it would both put the community at ease and allow Dawes access to treatment. “Since that day, my world has been turned upside down,” Van Winkle said. “This crime will not only stay with me for the rest of my life, but it will stay with my kids and my husband.”
Dawes, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, covered his face with his hands, shaking his head for most of Van Winkle’s testimony. In his own address to Minot, Dawes begged forgiveness for his “immature and degrading acts,” calling himself “disgusting.”
“I am deeply sorry from the bottom of my heart,” Dawes said.
Van Winkle called for a further investigation into whether Dawes uploaded the videos to the internet, which would be a felony charge. Durango Police previously told The Durango Herald they don’t have that evidence. “If the police department is incapable of performing this investigation … refer it to the Colorado or federal cybersecurity divisions to investigate,” Van Winkle said. “The women of Durango and surrounding communities deserve, at least, a thorough investigation.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
