Crowley County substitute teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a student in a borrowed car

CROWLEY COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — On Thursday, Crowley County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 20-year-old Shelby Clarke on a charge of sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust. They are now continuing to investigate allegations that Clarke had sex with a student and sent nude photos to several others.

According to investigative documents, a student told officers he had sex with Clarke twice in a red Mazda SUV. However, this car did not belong to Clarke.

“My wife, my daughter, they don’t want to ride in the car. They think it’s disgusting what happened in that car,” Dustin Bryan said.

Bryan tells KRDO13 that he lent Clarke his car out of kindness. Bryan was an old friend of Clarke’s mother and said he stepped in to help when Clarke’s car broke down in La Junta recently.

Bryan says Clarke has been driving his Mazda for about the last month.

Bryan said Clarke called him two weeks ago and said investigators were impounding the vehicle.

Sheriff’s records show that in late April, the superintendent of the Crowley County School District reported that he believed Clarke, a substitute teacher at the time, may have had inappropriate relationships with male students.

According to Crowley County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) records detailing interviews with witnesses, victims and Clarke himself, a student told officers that he and Clarke had sex once before an after-school exercise and once when she picked him up from his house had, had sex.

Other students told deputies that Clarke sent them nude photos.

The behavior was initially reported to CCSO by Crowley County school administrators. On April 25, Superintendent Juan Ramirez told the sheriff he was concerned that a substitute teacher was involved in inappropriate relationships with male students.

According to records, when officers asked Clarke if students had revealing images of her, Clarke told officers that she had an “Only Fans” account where she would post sexual images and videos, but students were not supposed to have access to it .

Clarke denied having sex or inappropriate relationships with students.

Arrest records show that a CBI analyst removed several parts of the car to test for DNA.

“They cut out everything on the seats and the armrest and then, um, the headliner, and I was just completely disgusted. I wondered why,” Bryan remarked.

Bryan says he doesn’t want to think about what might have happened in the vehicle. “It’s just rotten,” he said. “And you know, it’s disgusting.”

KRDO13 reached out to Shelby Clarke and asked if she had sex with a student or if she thought she was behaving wrongly. She replied: “No comments at this time.”

The Crowley County School District said she is no longer employed by the district.

Clarke is out of prison. She is due back in court on June 11th.