Colorado Springs teacher sentenced to 20 years to life in prison on child sexual assault charges
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A former teacher at Cheyenne Mountain High School was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison on Wednesday after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a former student in a relationship that began when she was just 14 and lasted nearly 12 years.
According to court records, Marco Lara, 50, was found guilty in July of sexual assault of a child, sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, and sexual assault of a child involving a pattern of abuse.
Lara was arrested in December 2023 following a Colorado Springs police investigation into a report of child sexual assault.
At the time, Lara was a math teacher at Cheyenne Mountain High School in District 12, though court documents state the allegations date back to before his employment there. Two days after Lara’s arrest, District 12 said he resigned from his position.
Following his arrest, KRDO13 Investigates obtained court documents that detailed Lara's inappropriate and lengthy sexual relationship with a former student, beginning when she was just 14 and lasting until she was 22.
Those court documents alleged Lara met the victim at a middle school in Colorado Springs, but it remains unclear which school.
According to an arrest affidavit, the victim told police her relationship with Lara was normal until she graduated 8th grade. She said Lara then began taking her to his home after school multiple times a week to have sex.
The victim was able to provide police with photo and video evidence of the sexual relationship from when she was 15 years old until she was 22, according to court documents.
Police records also detail a phone conversation they had with Lara, in which the victim asked Lara why he had sex with her when she was 14 years old. According to court documents, Lara responded, "It wasn’t planned…I should have known better."
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Lara was sentenced to spend 20 years to life behind bars, with his sentences to run concurrently.
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