Colorado officials investigate school district over same-sex student-teacher affair

Almost three years after a Colorado school district helped a student declare herself homeless so she could move in with her history teacher, the local sheriff’s department announced an investigation.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Jeffco Schools for its role in helping a minor student engage in a same-sex affair with Columbine High School teacher Leann Kearney.

The girl’s parents discovered the affair, as well as the paperwork provided by the school that deemed the girl an unaccompanied homeless minor.

The girl’s mom asked the teacher to stop contacting her daughter and informed school officials, but the child reportedly obtained the homeless designation and later moved in with Kearney. Once the girl turned 18, she and Kearney fled the state and were later found in California.

The district, which had five separate allegations of sexual assault lodged against its employees in 2024 alone, has faced increased scrutiny since its former Chief of Staff David Weiss killed himself shortly after it was revealed he was under investigation for possession of child pornography. 

Other charges against school employees include sexual exploitation of a child and unlawful sexual communication. Accused staffers included a social worker, middle school and after-school personnel. 

The Kearney case came to public attention after CBS Colorado ran an exposé on the student-teacher affair.  

Among the shocking revelations are school Principal Scott Christy telling the girl’s mother that Kearney liked to “help kids navigate their sexuality” and took no action against the teacher. Kearney resigned a year later and eventually lost her teaching license after two years of lobbying by the mother and Jeffco Kids First founder Lindsay Datko. 

Also revealed is that the district has received more than $400,000 since 2021 to assist homeless students, providing a potential financial motive to explain why 10 school officials allegedly cooperated to help the girl file a false report that she was homeless.  

The girl’s mother called the whole situation “not a story (but) a nightmare.” 

“She was failed by Jeffco Schools, her predatory teacher, and 10 mandated reporters, but she will never be failed by her family,” the mom said. “We have been fighting for her every day for 3 years and we will never stop.” 

Datko posted this week that another parent reached out to her after his son moved out suddenly after he turned 18, severing all contact with his parents. The young man is still a junior and the dad says he thinks the same employee that helped the female student emancipate herself aided his son in leaving his family. 

“I believe he was manipulated and groomed by his coaches to make this decision,” the man wrote to Datko, “all to ensure his continued participation in their program – and possibly to gain control over his future as a highly recruited athlete.” 

LibsofTikTok, an account that documents allegations of abuse by teachers, said after the Kearney story first broke that Jeffco “may be the worst school district in this country. 

“The amount of scandals they have, including sex scandals, is mind boggling.” 

The district, which has about 80,000 students and 14,000 staff, also pushes “DEI and radical gender ideology onto students,” LibsofTikTok wrote.