Records suggest former Manitou Springs High School administration knew of alleged sexual abuse

Editors note: This case has been dismissed as of March 11, 2024.

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A second former Manitou Springs High School teacher was arrested this week following allegations of sexual assault of a student. Matthew Barton, 53, faces six counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.

Barton was arrested Monday. According to the Manitou Springs Police Department, the assaults happened in the 2009/2010 academic year. During his time at Manitou Springs High School, Barton was an English teacher and a girls' soccer coach.

Police say Barton has not worked at the high school in more than a decade. According to police, Barton stopped working at the school in 2011.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KRDO, the victim claims some of the sexual assaults happened at the school.

Additionally, the arrest affidavit suggests the previous school administration was aware of the allegations and may not have shared that information with other educators. Now, there are questions about what the school may have known about the alleged inappropriate relationship between Barton a high schooler.

Arrest documents show that someone at the school reached out to Manitou Springs Police about Barton on the same day that it came to light that a fellow former English teacher, Timothy Hilt, was arrested on the same charges. 

Hilt's charges stem from the 2015-2016 school year.

Court documents indicate the current Manitou Springs staffer reached out to police to let them know about past accusations against Barton.

After the high school employee came forward, police reached out to current superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Domangue, who was not with the school district when Barton was employed.

Domangue originally told police she initially couldn't find any records about Barton, or the alleged abuse, other than his resignation letter.

However, she later contacted the police after she found a folder with documents about previous employees. Manitou Springs Police then executed a search warrant.

Police found a letter the previous administration had sent to Barton that referenced the accusations and an investigation centered around him.

That letter mentioned the alleged victim's name, who police reached out to next. 

According to the affidavit, the victim told police it was all true, saying Barton had sex with her on at least six occasions, including on school grounds.

The victim's sister reportedly learned of the allegations and told Barton's wife.

Police confirmed in the affidavit that these details were outlined in the letter sent to the superintendent at the time Ed Longfield.

According to police, following the letter, Barton was not arrested by police. Instead, he left the country and moved to China.

After returning from China, Barton went on to work at schools in Woodland Park and Douglas County.

KRDO reached out to Domangue to find out if she, or anyone else with the district, had ever fielded any calls from employers looking to hire Barton, and if she knew the reason why he left the school. She sent this statement late Friday evening:

The Manitou Springs School District previously issued an alert to parents and the community notifying them of the charges against the former teacher. Separately, we also updated students, staff, and parents about how we are (and have been) protecting and informing our students and staff about Title IX and mandatory reporting. We are focused on providing a safe, nurturing environment in which students can learn and feel safe. As a reminder, the charges date back more than ten years and no current staff are named or involved. We continue to work with the authorities, providing any information we can to help them complete their thorough investigation.

Barton is due back in court on his six felony charges on January 18.