Former Arapahoe teacher sentenced for attempted sex assault on student

Sarah Porter, 25, faces jail, probation, must register as sex offender

David Gilbert
dgilbert@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Posted 1/8/20

A former Arapahoe High School teacher was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Jan. 6 after pleading guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, a felony. Sarah …

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Former Arapahoe teacher sentenced for attempted sex assault on student

Sarah Porter, 25, faces jail, probation, must register as sex offender

Posted

A former Arapahoe High School teacher was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Jan. 6 after pleading guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, a felony.

Sarah Porter, 25, was also sentenced to 10 years in an intensive supervised probation program and will have to register as a sex offender, according to court records.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped three other charges: sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and promotion of obscenity to a minor, all felonies.

Porter, a Spanish teacher and volleyball and track coach who was hired in August 2018, was arrested in March 2019 after police received an anonymous tip through the Safe2Tell reporting program alleging she had kissed a 16-year-old student.

The student later told investigators that Porter sent him nude photos and videos of sex acts, and forced herself on the student and threatened him if he resisted, according to an affidavit in the case.

Porter was the second Arapahoe teacher arrested on suspicion of sex assault last year.

Drama teacher Ian Ahern was arrested in January 2019 and charged with sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust after a former student alleged he manipulated and assaulted her when she came to him for emotional support. Ahern initially pleaded guilty to the charge, but withdrew his plea in December after a court ruling invalidated the deal. He is scheduled for a jury trial in April.

Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Brian Ewert said the district stands by its vetting processes for new teachers.
 
“We do background checks through the FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation,” Ewert said. “Licensure through the Colorado Department of Education is serious stuff. We covered all our bases for all employees.”
 
Ewert called Porter’s crime “tragic and unfortunate.”
 
“When we hire people to work with kids, we expect them to be the right people and do the right thing,” Ewert said. “Every district faces this. We work in a system where sometimes people get through the net, and it’s unfortunate.”
sarah porter, littleton public schools, ian ahern, brian ewert, littleton colorado, david gilbert

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