By NBC News staff
Aurora Police Dept.
Police in Colorado have arrested the founder of children's charity StandUp For Kids, a nonprofit organization that helps homeless and at-risk children.
Richard Lee Koca, Sr., 69, was arrested on Saturday in Aurora, Colo., and charged with felony sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, a charge that stems from "acts with a child he was supervising in Aurora,"?police said, according to?The Aurora Sentinel. Investigators fear there could be additional victims.
Aurora police began investigating Koca Aug. 29. He's currently being held in the Arapahoe County Jail on $250,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, The Sentinel said.
Koca founded StandUp For Kids, a national organization based in Atlanta, in 1990, and served as its CEO until 2010, reported TheDenverChannel.com. The organization's website, StandUpForKids.Org, was taken down after Koca's arrest.
Court records indicate a pattern of alleged abuse began in August 2009 and continued into 2012, TheDenverChannel.com reported. Koca faces seven felony counts of sexual assault on a single juvenile victim.
With Koca's extensive ties to children -- he was a Scout Master for Boy Scouts of America in Panama, volunteered at an English orphanage, and was involved in Explorer scout programs in California -- officials are encouraging any other possible victims to come forward.
"He placed himself in situations where there were youth around with the fa?ade that he was doing good," Aurora Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said, reported TheDenverChannel.com.
Koca served in the Navy for 30 years, working with children in various places across the U.S. and overseas during his military career as well, The Aurora Sentinel said. He has continued to serve on the board of directors of StandUp for Kids since he retired from his position as CEO.
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