Man accused of killing mom, 2 kids, assaulting teen convicted of child molestation in Indiana

This photo provided by Canon City Police shows Jaacob Vanwinkle, who has been charged in connection with the murder of a mother and two children in Canon City, Colo., Sunday, March 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Canon City Police) (The Associated Press)

A Canon City police officer is pictured at a home on Monday, March 10, 2014, as they investigate the deaths of a mother and two young children found at the home Sunday night. Police said Jaacob Van Winkle has been arrested and charged in the murders. Police were responding to a report of a sexual assault from a teenage girl when they found the bodies. Byerly said the girl escaped and ran to a neighbor's home to notify police. (AP Photo/Canon City Daily Record, Michael Alcala) (The Associated Press)

CANON CITY, Colo. – A man accused of killing a mother and her two young children and sexually assaulting her daughter in Colorado has a violent criminal past that includes child molestation and spans at least a decade.

Thirty-one-year-old Jaacob Vanwinkle was sentenced in 2004 to seven years in prison in Indiana after being convicted of child molestation and other sex crimes involving at least one 7-year-old girl. He served less than two years and was in and out of prison for alleged parole violations.

Vanwinkle was released in 2012. Less than two months later, police in Colorado say his pregnant ex-girlfriend told them he beat her. Vanwinkle pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of domestic violence and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

He was arrested in the triple slaying in Canon City on Sunday.

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