By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
A suspect currently awaiting trial for sex-related crimes in Colorado was arrested at a Hays motel on suspicion of rape.
At 1:08 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, a deputy with the Ellis County Sheriff's Department and an officer with the Hays Police Department observed a 14-year-old girl exiting a room during a routine patrol at the Rodeway Inn, 3404 Vine, according to Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler.
After making contact with the minor, officers found she appeared intoxicated and began an investigation.
Christopher Lynn Cox, 20, was found in the room and, after questioning, was arrested.
Cox is being held in the Ellis County jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond on suspicion of rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and unlawfully hosting a minor consuming alcoholic liquor or cereal malt beverage.
A no-contact order with the victim has also been put in place, according to Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees.
Cox is currently awaiting trial stemming from offenses in Prowers County, Colorado.
He pleaded not guilty to assault in the third degree and unlawful sexual contact in the case that was set for trial in April in Lamar, Colo.
"This is just good police work," Scheibler said. "The officers were up there being proactive and on patrol, they got out to speak to an individual and saw something potentially suspicious and made contact."
"That investigation allowed us to recover a 14-year-old girl and make sure she was safe and helped us put a sex offender in jail," he said.
Drees said the victim was contacted by Cox via a phone app called Snapchat and encouraged parents to monitor their children's social media accounts.
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.