LAKEWOOD, Colo. — A former high school paraprofessional was sentenced on Jan. 31 for sexually assaulting a student after the victim left hints of an inappropriate relationship on a class assignment.
Imagine Kay Ewers, 28, had been working in a special needs classroom at Brady Exploration High School when another teacher called police after noticing the “inappropriate” writing on the 16-year-old’s school work in Nov. 2023, The Denver Post reports.
According to a press release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, a criminal investigation into the complaint revealed Ewer’s “favoritism” toward the victim was noticed by school staff “almost immediately” after she started working there in Aug. 2023. Investigators ultimately found “thousands upon thousands upon thousands” of text messages between the two. The messages suggested Ewer introduced the victim to drugs, including fentanyl, alcohol, and weapons.
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At the sentencing hearing, Special Victims Prosecutor Brynn Chase said Ewer repeatedly asked the boy to bring a gun to their sexual encounters and directed him “to bring the gun to school and shoot another faculty member in the leg,” according to CBS.
Ewer pleaded guilty in November to sexual assault on a child by someone in a position of trust and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. As part of a plea deal, the court dismissed four other charges, including sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust as a pattern, sexual exploitation of a child-possession, unlawful electronic sexual communication by one in a position of trust, and a second charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Ewer was sentenced to four years in the Colorado Department of Corrections and at least 10 years of probation. Judge Chantel Contiguglia added conditions to Ewer’s probation, including supervisor’s access to her electronic devices. Ewer must also register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.
Ewer previously worked in Jeffco Public Schools since 2015 as a teaching assistant, paraprofessional, and school nurse.
