Foster parent who cared for 42 kids held as suspect in molestation case

Author: Kirk Mitchell

A foster parent who has cared for 42 foster children is suspected of molesting his child, authorities say.

Joe David Lujan, 59, was arrested Wednesday and was being held at the Denver County Jail, police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez said.

The child told a family member about the abuse in September, authorities say. Police were called, and the child and two grandchildren were immediately removed from the home.

Denver Human Services social workers have contacted some of the children who have stayed at the home to find out if any of them had been abused, human services manager Roxane White said.

None of the foster children has claimed to have been molested, White said. The process of contacting the foster children is continuing, she said.

The Lujan home was licensed from September 1998 to February of this year, when the Lujans resigned, said Debbie Grebenik, executive director of Maple Star, a private foster care agency.

The Lujans, who were licensed to care for as many as four children at a time, were well regarded in the community, Grebenik said. She said they would sometimes take children at night on an emergency basis.

"We didn't have any indication that something was happening" at the Lujan house, she said. "They provided good foster care."

Police are asking any other possible victims to contact the Police Department at 720-913-6050.

Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.