'Deeply disturbing': Former teacher, Boy Scout leader sentenced for child sex abuse

This story references sexual abuse against children, including some details of abuse shared by victims in this case during a sentencing hearing. Resources for those impacted by sexual abuse have been included.

A former Boy Scouts of America leader and Poudre School District middle school teacher has been sentenced to the maximum prison time he could get after admitting to sexually abusing boys under his care in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Robert Denise, 61, was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday after previously pleading guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a child, a Class 3 felony. Denise was also sentenced to 10 years of intensive probation following his prison sentence.

Denise was arrested in April 2023 after a former student from Cache La Poudre Junior High — now named Cache La Poudre Middle School — made a report to law enforcement in January 2023 that one of his former teachers sexually abused him twice while attending school there about 20 years ago.

In speaking with reporters after Thursday's sentencing hearing, the first individual to come forward with allegations against Denise said he "was pretty at peace with whatever the outcome was."

"It's a small victory, I don't know if anyone sees it as a victory," the man told reporters. "He's just serving his time now."

After the first man came forward, four other victims contacted investigators with similar sexual abuse allegations against Denise — either while they were students at Cache La Poudre Junior High School or while Denise supervised them as a Boy Scout leader — between 1992 and 2009, while the victims were all 14-15 years old.

All five victims remained anonymous in addressing the court during the sentencing hearing and in court documents.

"There was a lot of sadness when more people came forward," the first victim who reported the abuse said to reporters. He had chosen to report the abuse he experienced after his therapist encouraged him to in order to get some closure.

He said he pushed the memories of his abuse away and tried not to think about it or how it impacted him, but after reporting the abuse and seeing that other victims existed, he was "shocked of how dangerous of a person he actually was."

This victim and two others spoke during Denise's sentencing hearing, sometimes describing the details of the abuse Denise put them through. Another one of the victim's mothers spoke on behalf of her son.

"The things he has done have changed us all forever," the first victim who reported told the court. "Things that aren't and never will be our fault."

'I didn't tell anyone, I just hid'

Two of the victims who spoke said they were abused by Denise while at the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch near Red Feather Lakes as teens. One man said Denise touched him inappropriately once, and while he managed to stop the abuse from escalating any further, Denise continued to make inappropriate comments to him and it has still impacted him throughout his adult life.

The other man said Denise sexually abused him for five consecutive summers at the Boy Scout camp. He estimated Denise abused him more than 100 times as a teenager.

The man told the court that Denise was emotionally controlling and manipulative. The first time he was abused, he said Denise offered to massage him because he injured himself at camp, and Denise lured him back to his tent. Denise then escalated the massage to forcing the then-teen to participate in oral sex with him.

"I didn't know what to do. I was scared and I didn't understand," the man said during the sentencing hearing. "I just remember sitting on a rock crying until the sun came up. I didn't tell anyone, I just hid."

Denise introduced the man to alcohol, which he said he abused into his adult life to bury his trauma. While drinking at the Boy Scout camp, the man said Denise would become more aggressive in his abuse and would "pin me down and tell me to just take it."

The first victim who reported the abuse said there were no words to describe how the abuse he experienced "obliterated all trust moving forward" in every relationship he's had. The victims talked about how they pushed family and friends away in order to not face their trauma from this abuse, and they have struggled in their adult lives with all types of personal relationships.

The mother of one of the victims who was abused by Denise as a student said she noticed a "dramatic change that completely altered his behavior" in middle school, while he was being groomed and abused by Denise. She said she was also manipulated by Denise.

"I thought he had a genuine interest in helping my son," she said.

Her son lost interest in his favorite activities, snowboarding and hockey, became disinterested in school and started abusing alcohol and marijuana. Eventually he ended up in juvenile detention and dropped out of high school. He continued struggling with substance abuse and got a DUI, which led him to multiple attempts at getting sober, none of which have been successful, she said. He is currently serving a two-year prison sentence.

She said the damage Denise has caused to her son and the other victims in this case warranted the maximum prison sentence.

Judge: No excuse for 'incredibly disturbing' actions

Former teachers, a former student and a former parent of two boys who attended Cache La Poudre Middle School spoke on Denise's behalf, calling him a wonderful teacher who truly cared about his students and made significant positive impacts on many of their lives.

Denise's defense attorney, David Johnson, brought in a large plastic bin filled with letters from previous students telling Denise that "your teaching changed my life," estimating he's had a positive impact on thousands of students over his decades of teaching at the middle school.

"Back in the early 2000s, he did some horrible things. He made some horrible choices. We're not denying that," Johnson said. "The bad doesn't overpower the good and the good doesn't overpower the bad; they're both true."

Deputy District Attorney Luke Birky argued that Denise took advantage of being in a unique position of trust as a teacher to groom and sexually abuse children.

"There is no number of good deeds that can balance out the rape of a child," Birky said.

Judge Stephen Jouard agreed that the positive impacts Denise had on his other students "doesn't excuse in any way" his "incredibly disturbing" actions in this case.

"He used the many talents that made him a great teacher and exploited those talents to perpetrate the crimes against the victims," Jouard said.

Nationally, only about 5% of men who experience sexual abuse report it, the lead investigator for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in this case, Ryan Gebhardt, told the court. He argued that the five men who "came forward quite bravely" in this case actually represent about 100 male victims of sexual abuse.

In an interview and in court, the first victim to report said he hoped other boys and men who are victims of sexual abuse see their stories and believe that "when something like this happens to them, there is justice."

"The courage of these victims is nothing short of astounding," Birky said.

Gebhardt called Denise the first "serial child rapist that I've had to investigate," and said what these victims told him Denise did was "disgusting," "deeply disturbing, troubling and often shocking."

"Robert Denise violated the trust of this community for years," Gebhardt said.

Denise told the court he takes full responsibility for the "hurt and pain that others have suffered as a result of my actions."

Denise said he was selfish and recognized what he did was "morally wrong and reprehensible," and that what he did "should never have happened."

Denise said if he could speak to the victims, "I would not ask for forgiveness. What I would say is I am truly and deeply sorry for my actions and I alone am to blame. I betrayed your trust and faith in me and I caused a hurt no one should have to lie through.

"For the pain I have caused you, I am honestly and sincerely sorry."

'I want to challenge PSD to do better'

Prior to being put on administrative leave in 2023, Denise had been a teacher at Cache la Poudre Middle School since 1995, and that's the only job he had while working for Poudre School District, a district spokesperson previously told the Coloradoan. In 1995, the school taught students in grades seven through nine.

Denise had most recently been teaching social studies at the middle school before being placed on paid administrative leave in February, when the sheriff's office began its investigation, according to an email sent to families when Denise was initially arrested.

Denise retired from Poudre School District effective April 1, 2024 — days before pleading guilty on April 5 — district spokesperson Emily Shockley previously told the Coloradoan. He had been placed on administrative leave in February 2023, at the start of the sheriff's office investigation. He had most recently taught social studies.

The first victim to report his abuse told the court that as a parent of two children who will attend Poudre School District, he wants to "challenge PSD to do better" in protecting children from abuse.

"When you have kids, and you realize they're going to be walking into a room you walked into, it changes everything," the man told reporters.

Resources for students, families

At the time of Denise's initial arrest, the sheriff's office and school district shared a list of the following resources available for all community members:

• Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Connections (CAYAC): 970-221-3308

• ChildSafe: 970-472-4133

• Connections - Adult Services: 970-221-5551

• Crawford Child Advocacy Center: 970-407-9739

• I Matter Colorado (up to six free, virtual counseling sessions) in English and in Spanish

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (free and confidential support 24/7): 988 (text or call)

• Sexual Assault Victims Advocate (SAVA) Center: 970-472-4200

• SummitStone Health Partners Community Crisis Center: 970-494-4200

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Former Poudre School District teacher sentenced for child sex abuse