CENTENNIAL — Former Cherry Creek middle school teacher Brian Vasquez on Monday pleaded guilty to sexually abusing five students over a five-year period.
According to a grand jury indictment, Vasquez, 35, had an inappropriate sexual relationship with his first victim while teaching at Prairie Middle School in 2013.
Since the 2013 incident, Vasquez admitted to engaging in an improper sexual relationship with four other girls.
Vasquez pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, pattern of abuse, a Class 3 felony; one count of sexual exploitation of a child, a Class 3 felony; one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, a Class 4 felony; and one count of internet sexual exploitation of a child, a Class 4 felony.
Two school administrators have also been indicted in connection to the incidents: Adrienne (“AJ”) Macintosh, a dean at the school at the time, and David Gonzalez, the school principal at the time, after the teen girl in 2013 reported the abuse to them, according to the indictment.
But instead of reporting the abuse to law enforcement, as they are required by law, the indictment says Macintosh and Gonzalez told the victim that her testimony would damage the career and life of a good teacher.
When the victim recanted, she was suspended from school for the purported reason that she "made up a false allegation against Vasquez," according to the indictment.
According to the indictment, both said they knew the rules of mandatory reporting of child abuse to law enforcement.
But Macintosh told the grand jury while she never had any type of training in investigation procedures, she believed it was her individual responsibility to conduct her own personal investigation. Macintosh also told the grand jury she had no memory of the 14-year-old girl disclosing sexual abuse by Vasquez.
Gonzalez testified to the grand jury that he too had no memory of the victim disclosing abuse by Vasquez. The indictment also says Gonzalez said he didn’t remember any disciplinary proceedings against the victim.
Macintosh is scheduled to next appear in court July 17, and Gonzalez is scheduled for an Aug. 28 hearing.
Vasquez will be sentenced Sept. 28. He faces an indeterminate sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
