Cache La Poudre Middle School teacher convicted of sexual harassment

LARIMER COUNTY, Colorado – A former Larimer County middle school teacher has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually exploiting a child.

Robert Denise, who taught social studies at Cache La Poudre Middle School and was a Boy Scout ranch leader, was arrested on April 16, 2023, after one of his students reported abuse.

After the arrest, four more victims came forward and said they had also been abused by Denise.

“Unfortunately, our office was unable to prosecute the two oldest crimes due to the statute of limitations,” the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in a press release. “The courage of these victims, including those whose crimes cannot be prosecuted, cannot be overstated.”

Denise had been employed as a teacher in the Poudre School District since 1995. During the summers of the 1990s, he also worked at the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch in Red Feather Lakes.

One of the victims, who identified himself, told investigators that Denise sexually abused him before he was sexually abused.

“The manipulation in this case is the most extensive I have ever seen,” said Assistant District Attorney Luke Birky during Denise’s sentencing hearing. “The defendant did everything he could to have constant access to teenagers and targeted ‘problem boys’ to further his manipulation.”

The victim also told investigators that he had told Denise before the assault that he had been sexually abused years ago. There is no indication that Denise, who is required to report, ever shared this information with school administrators or law enforcement.

Denise was initially charged with a total of four counts of sexual abuse of a child by a person of trust, relating to three different victims, all of whom were under the age of 16 at the time of the abuse, and with failure to report child abuse.

On April 4, he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse of a child. After the 16-year prison sentence, Denise was sentenced to 10 years of intensive probation for sex offenders.

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