Colorado man indicted for allegedly lying to feds about criminal history

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Montrose, Colo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage on felony charges of making false statements and perjury, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

James Paul Hunt, 61, now faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each offense. The indictment alleges that while applying to be a third-party custodian for his son, who faces federal child pornography charges in Alaska, Hunt lied about his criminal history. When asked on the application to U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services if he had "ever been cited, arrested, charged with or convicted of any crime," he neglected to inform officials of his 1987 conviction on child sex abuse charges. He signed the application under penalty of perjury.

Then at a bail hearing for his son last November, a federal prosecutor asked Hunt whether there were "any other instances" or "police contacts" that he had failed to mention on the application to be a third party custodian. It is alleged in the indictment that Hunt once again falsely responded and did not disclose the sexual assault charge or his guilty plea.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.