Editor’s note: The following article includes descriptions of sexual assault that some readers may find disturbing.

The owner of Steamboat Springs-based Perez Cleaning Services, Ernesto Silvioquispe Perez, is facing a felony sexual-assault charge for allegedly raping an employee while they worked to clean houses in December 2024.

Court documents show that Perez, 64, was arrested July 14 after a multiyear investigation by the Routt County Sheriff’s Office. He was released on a personal recognizance bond of $50,000 the following day.

Perez is scheduled to be in court for a status conference appearance Sept. 16.

According to an arrest affidavit, Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies received a report Dec. 21, 2024, from a victim who alleged she was sexually assaulted by Perez two days prior while cleaning two unoccupied houses in the Steamboat Lake and Steamboat II areas.

The affidavit, obtained by the newspaper from the Routt County Clerk’s Office, states the alleged victim told deputies that while at a residence in the Steamboat Lake area on Dec. 19, 2024, Perez allegedly instructed her to return to a bathroom that she had already finished cleaning.

The victim recounted Perez telling her it “was still dirty” and that she “didn’t do a good job,” according to the arrest affidavit. After they entered the bathroom, Ernesto Perez shut the door behind them and touched (the victim) on the chest,” the alleged victim reportedly told detectives.

Leaving the house in the Steamboat Lake area, Perez reportedly brought the alleged victim and another employee working with them that day to a residence behind the Steamboat II neighborhood, later identified as the Marabou Ranch neighborhood.

Perez allegedly instructed the alleged victim to “come and look at the children’s bedroom” at the residence while the other employee cleaned upstairs, according to the affidavit.

The alleged victim stated that after they entered the room, which she said included two sets of bunk beds, Perez closed the door and the window shades to make the room dark and allegedly instructed the victim to remove her clothes, stating “that if (the victim) did not comply, it would be (her) last day at work.”

The alleged victim told detectives that Perez then pulled down his pants and, “penetrated (the victim) with his penis while laying on the floor of the bedroom,” according to the affidavit.

After the alleged rape, the victim reported that Perez told her to continue cleaning the house. She told investigators that her boss instructed her “not to tell anyone” and “that nobody would believe her.”

Attorney Trevor McFee, who is representing Perez, said in an Aug. 11 statement that his client “adamantly denies the allegations … against him and very much looks forward to a trial in this case when he is confident the evidence will show that he is innocent.”

Matt Karzen, district attorney for the 14th Judicial District, and Doug Scherar, the Routt County sheriff, both declined to comment on the allegations against Perez as the case remains pending.

DNA analysis furthers investigation

The initial report at the end of 2024 to Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies initiated what would be a multiyear investigation leading to Perez’s arrest last month.

On the same day the victim reported the alleged assault to police, the arrest affidavit notes a sexual assault examination was conducted at Yampa Valley Medical Center, with results sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for forensic analysis.

Investigators later received and executed a court order to collect a DNA sample from Perez using a buccal swab in late January 2025, according to the affidavit, which notes that Perez “did not wish to speak” with deputies at that time.

The sheriff’s office received the results of a DNA examination from the CBI Forensic Services lab later that year on Christmas Day.

According to the CBI, delays in forensic results last year came as the agency faced a “historic backlog” after an investigation found a former CBI DNA analyst, Yvonne “Missy” Woods, falsified lab reports in over 1,000 cases between 2008 and 2023.

While the lab’s delayed analysis in the case against Perez excluded him from swabs taken from the victim’s neck and breast, it found Perez’s DNA was a match to the sperm sample collected from the victim, according to the affidavit.

With the DNA results in hand, investigators used a search warrant to secure work logs from Perez’s cleaning company as a way to identify the two properties where the victim and the second employee had worked with Perez on the day the sexual assaults allegedly occurred.

After identifying the residences and their owners, a detective asked for permission to access the properties to take exterior and interior photographs. Both homeowners agreed.

On July 3, investigators sat down with the alleged victim and ultimately found that her descriptions of the properties matched the layouts portrayed in the photos.

After reviewing the investigation’s findings, a 14th Judicial District court judge signed a warrant July 11 for Perez’s arrest. He was taken into custody that day.

Immigration threats create ‘fear-based’ culture

Beyond the Class 4 sexual-assault charge being brought against Perez, the affidavit suggests the cleaning company owner maintained a threatening culture with employees who were allegedly informed that their work status in the country could be at risk if they did not comply with instructions.

In an interview with investigators, the alleged victim described the work environment at Perez Cleaning Services as “controlling and fear based.”

The alleged victim stated that Perez “would make comments such as ‘Donald Trump’s coming for you'” to intimidate workers, according to the affidavit, and said Perez once showed her a “text message about someone asking for help to deport people,” which she interpreted as a veiled threat related to immigration status, according to the affidavit.

The Routt County Sheriff’s Office detective leading the investigation listed a felony human trafficking for sexual servitude charge on the July 11 affidavit, but it was ultimately left off the signed arrest warrant. Still, the district attorney’s office could decide to file it again.

“As in any case where the appellate courts have issued controlling opinions interpreting a statute that is recently passed or amended or complicated, we continue to asses the evidence to determine whether additional charges are legally appropriate,” a representative for the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

State corporate records show Perez Cleaning Services is listed as “current” with a Steamboat address. The records list Ernesto Perez as the primary agent for the company, which he and his wife, Leyda Perez, started in 1995.

The company’s website notes that the cleaning company has expanded beyond cleaning services over the years and now offers services such as snow removal, water damage and flood restoration and exterior and interior window cleaning.

“Together, we created a small business we can be proud of. Today we offer more than cleaning,” the company’s website states.

Editor’s note: Every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless and until their guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

To reach the Routt County Advocates 24/7 Safe Line, call 970-879-8888 or email SafeLine@AdvocatesRC.org. To reach the National Human Trafficking Hotline, call 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733.

Trevor Ballantyne is the editor for the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4254 or email him at tballantyne@SteamboatPilot.com.