DENVER — On hot summer days, the sound of an ice cream truck driving by the F15 Pool in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood is a common one.
“It sounds like summer is on its way,” says Julie, a mother of two.
On Friday, Julie’s 12-year-old daughter and her friends flagged down an ice cream truck.
“[The driver] “I was like, ‘I didn’t know you guys had been chasing me for a few blocks. Can you give me a ride to the pool?'” Julie said.
That question, along with the Venmo receipt with the name scribbled on a napkin, piqued Julie’s curiosity.
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Upon investigation, Julie found social media posts that listed the driver, Keith Frazier, as a registered sex offender with a lengthy criminal history.
“I had a sick feeling in my stomach,” Julie said.
According to documents from the Weld County District Attorney’s Office, Frazier was indicted on six counts of indecent assault in 1997. Court documents say Frazier stole underwear from two Greeley girls he was babysitting and kept a diary about it.
A background check revealed he had a lengthy criminal history, including a 2001 felony assault charge and a 2008 felony theft charge.
“It makes me wonder… how did he get this job, especially with this kind of company where the main customers are children?” Julie said.
Registered sex offender driving ice cream truck linked to unlicensed business in Denver
Denver police said Frazier was “compliant with the sex offender registry,” but the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses said not only was Ice Cream Wagon operating without a license, but that it had no record of any application or license for Keith Frazier.
“One of the most important reasons ice cream vendors need licenses is because of the food safety aspect, as well as the fact that they deal a lot with children,” said Chuck Hickey of Denver’s Department of Excise and Licensing.
City licensing requirements include an FBI background check that Frazier would never have been able to pass. Denver requires that its vendors and each of their employees be licensed.
“It’s the law in Denver that ice cream vendors must prominently display their badges when they’re open for business,” Hickey explained.
Hickey said Ice Cream Wagon and Frazier will be served with violation notices. If ignored, they could face fines ranging from $150 to $999 before, as a last resort, criminal charges could be filed, Hickey said.
Julie said these unlicensed companies should be given stronger penalties, especially when it comes to the cost of safety.
“We were lucky that something bigger didn’t happen,” Julie said.
Denver7 reached out to The Ice Cream Wagon for comment but had not heard back as of publication.
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