Once again a female teacher has been arrested for having sex with a male student. Nicole Barnhart, 35, a social studies teacher at Ponderosa High School in Colorado, has been charged with one count of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust with a pattern of abuse. She is out on $10,000 bond.
Barnhart had just completed a child neglect sentence last month for leaving her 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son in her car with the windows rolled up on a 90-degree day while she shopped at the mall last July.
In addition, this pillar of the education community, was relieved of her duties as cheerleading coach after inviting some of them back to her home for a game of Truth or Dare.
Rocky Mountain News
A married Ponderosa High School teacher is facing felony sex assault charges, accused of engaging in an ongoing affair with a troubled sophomore whom she says she wanted to help.
Nicole Barnhart, 35, has admitted to having sexual relations with the boy - one of her students - twice, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Douglas County District Court.
The social studies teacher initially denied any wrongdoing but later broke down sobbing, saying the teen "begged" her to have sex with him, according to the affidavit.
"He's not like those kids - he tells me he loves me and he wants to make love to me, and everything's OK," the document quoted Barnhart as saying. "My life has been totally ruined."
The teacher, who has two young children, said she befriended the teen because she was worried he may have anger and alcohol problems.
Court records paint a picture of a relationship that developed over a series of off-campus lunches, at least one meeting at a housewares store and a rendezvous in a car on a deserted road.
Investigators began questioning Barnhart, the teen and others after a deputy stumbled upon the pair alone in a car near North Castle Oaks and Valley View drives in Parker on March 18.
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The boy, quoted in the affidavit, repeatedly told investigators he did not want Barnhart to get into trouble. He loves her, he said, and does not consider himself a victim.
"I'm safe. I'm not scared. I'm bigger than she is," he told investigators. "All she's done is help me, save me."
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The boy, who previously was being treated for depression, is receiving counseling, the affidavit said, adding that authorities are concerned he may be suicidal.
The teen told investigators he has nothing left to "look forward to."
"I don't care about anything. . . . All I have left to care about is her," he was quoted as saying.
Also be sure to see other sickos in the Diggers Realm Sicko Archive
Tipped by: The Education Wonks
