Court docs indicate a Colorado school district took a month to report sexual assault allegations
FRISCO, Colo. (KRDO) -- A middle school physical education teacher in Summit County faces multiple counts of sexual assault on a child. According to court documents obtained by our Denver news partners, the Summit School District took a month to notify law enforcement about the allegations.
According to the Summit County Sheriff's Office (SCSO), investigators received information on October 27, 2021, on allegations of sexual misconduct by a teacher involving female students. The suspect, 61-year-old Leonard Alan Grams, later surrendered himself to detectives on August 9, 2022.
The SCSO said the district received seven reports of alleged sexual misconduct by Grams between September 30, 2021, and October 24, 2021.
According to an affidavit obtained by 9News, a teenager at Summit Middle School told a staff member on Sept. 23, 2021, that Grams had "touched her breast." On Sept. 30, 2021, she wrote a statement to the school principal.
"I was inappropriately touched on my body by a teacher during class," the student wrote in that statement. "I didn't know what to do because I have never been in a situation like this before and I was scared."
However, 9News reports no one from the district told law enforcement about the incident until Oct. 27, 2021, more than a month after the student told a staff member.
According to the affidavit obtained by 9News, Summit Middle School Principal Greg Guevara conducted an investigation and determined the girl's claim "just wasn't sufficient," although the result could have gone "either way."
It wasn't until two more girls came forward that the District Human Resources Director looked into the matter. Still, court documents indicate the district decided "it did not sound like Mr. Grams did anything inappropriate."
According to the district's policies regarding reporting child abuse/child protection, "Any school employee who has reasonable cause to know or suspect that any child is subjected to abuse or neglect or to conditions that might result in abuse or neglect must immediately upon receiving such information report such fact to the Summit County Department of Social Services or Summit County Sheriff's Department. The employee must follow any oral report with a written report sent to the appropriate agency."
Additionally, state law requires "mandated reporting" from educators regarding suspected child abuse or neglect.
The district did reach out to law enforcement after four more students came forward with allegations. In total, seven students reported issues regarding Grams' behavior. Including touching students.
According to the SCSO, Grams is charged with five counts of Sex Assault on a Child, a Class 4 Felony, and three counts of Sex Assault on a Child-by a person in a Position of Trust, a Class 3 Felony.
The sheriff's office is asking anyone who might have information or believes they were a victim to contact Detective Sergeant Mark Gafari at 970-423-8960.
