Castle Rock – A former Ponderosa High School teacher accused of having sex with a 16-year-old 10th-grader may not stand trial, according to exchanges between lawyers in a Douglas County courtroom this morning.
Iris Eytan, the lawyer for 36-year-old teacher Nicole Barnhart, asked Judge Paul King to postpone an arraignment because she wanted to “show some documentation” to the prosecutor that would bring the court case to a close.
Deputy District Attorney Darren Vahle said he had already offered a plea deal, which might be withdrawn by a postponement.
Both attorneys declined to comment on new evidence or a plea agreement after the hearing.
Accompanied to court by her parents but not her husband, the former social studies teacher was ready to plead “not guilty” today. Eytan, however, wanted King to hold off on scheduling a court date until after she could share information with Vahle that would shed light on the case.
King refused that arrangement, noting that it was Barnhart’s third appearance in court since her August. He told lawyers to be prepared to either announce a plea agreement or be ready to set a date for trial at hearing on Dec. 20.
Reached at her office later, Eytan refused to comment on anything, saying, “We’re not going to try this case in the media.”
Kathleen Walsh, a spokeswoman for the 18th Judicial District, said it would be a breach of ethics for Vahle to discuss a pending plea agreement.
Barnhart, a former social studies teacher and cheerleading coach, was arrested in March.
She said she was counseling the boy because he was abusing drugs and alcohol and quarreling with his mother. Barnhart told police that she kissed the boy, and submitted to sex after “he begged me,” according to court records.
The relationship began to unravel on March 18, when a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy found Barnhart and the boy together in her van parked at the end of a dirt road in Castlewood Canyon. During the investigation, friends and the boy’s 13-year-old brother said he had bragged about having sex numerous times with a teacher.
Students have told reporters and investigators that Barnhart had a reputation for wearing revealing clothing and was publicly affectionate toward the boy, including cooking him lobster dinners in her home while her husband and two children were away.
Barnhart has been a teacher in Douglas County since 1995, moving to Ponderosa High in Parker in 2002 after teaching eighth-grade social studies at Ranchview Middle School.
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-820-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.
