Court docs reveal details in arrest of former El Paso County deputy for human trafficking
Editors note: Sundheim was a former deputy with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in Colorado. He was arrested in Harris County, Texas. This story does not have any relation to the Texas El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KRDO) - The El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO) says one of their former deputies has been arrested.
63-year-old, Ivan Sundheim was arrested by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Spring, Texas according to the department.
The sheriff's office says he is charged with human trafficking for involuntary servitude, a class 3 felony.
EPSO says Sundheim was employed with the sheriff's office from 1993 until 2013 when he retired.
"These allegations were reported to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in May 2024, an in depth investigation into the allegation lead [sic] to an arrest warrant," read a release from EPSO. "The alleged incident took place during Sundheim’s employment with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office."
According to court documents, the victim in the situation involving Ivan Sundheim recently disclosed the details to his therapist about a sexual encounter he had with an El Paso County Sheriff's Deputy in 2012. At the therapist's recommendation, the victim disclosed this incident to a law enforcement officer who goes to church with the victim.
The court documents show that the victim said in 2012 he was addicted to drugs and wrapped up in some criminal activity that resulted in probation through EPSO. Before the victim was prosecuted for those crimes, the victim left his son with his parents and disappeared. The victim's parents reported him missing to EPSO.
As part of the 2024 investigation into the 2012 incident, EPSO confirmed that Deputy Ivan Sundheim responded to complete a missing persons report at the victim's parent's home on 4/4/2012. The following day, the victim claimed he was contacted by an individual through a website. The victim would advertise himself on this website as a "toy" for other men to use. This individual, who went by the name Ivan, picked up the victim and drove him to his home, documents show.
Court documents then show that Ivan told the victim on the way to his home that he was a deputy and that he had taken a missing person's report for him the day prior. Ivan did not tell the victim he was a deputy when they were corresponding on the website, he just said he wanted to take the victim up on his offer for sex.
Documents then show that Ivan confirmed to the victim he knew who the victim was and that the missing person's report had come from the victim's parents. Ivan told the victim not to be alarmed because he would see a patrol vehicle at the house when they got there.
Court documents then state that after allegedly engaging in sex at Ivan's home, the victim was dropped off at a dope house. Ivan told the victim not to tell anyone about them meeting up because Ivan could get in trouble or lose his job.
Back to 2024, court documents show that in August 2024, the victim's parents told police that "The officer told the victim he had a warrant and had a choice to go to jail or to have sex with him." The victim is also currently in inpatient psychiatric treatment based on the events being brought back up.
Court documents say when police contacted Ivan recently in 2024, he said he remembered the victim, that he met him online, and that the sex was consensual. Ivan said he has never done anything that was not consensual.
Documents then say that police believe "Ivan used his knowledge of the victim gained through his law enforcement position to find, identify, and isolate the victim. Ivan picked up the victim and transported him to his home and used his position, the location of his patrol vehicle, and the knowledge of the victim's legal issues to coerce the victim into serving Ivan with oral and anal sex," documents showed.
