A Denver-area minister has been arrested on allegations he had sexual relations in 2003 with a 17-year-old girl who was in a church choir he directed.
The Rev. Michael Peters, 35, was advised of his rights in Denver County Court on Wednesday.
Peters was described as “a minister and a counselor in the Denver and Boulder area for a number of years,” in a prepared statement from Denver police.
“We initiated an investigation approximately a week ago into an allegation made regarding the Rev. Michael Peters,” said police spokesman Detective John White. “Mr. Peters was arrested on Tuesday for investigation of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.”
Detective Ken Klaus said, in an affidavit, that he was questioning the young woman in connection with an earlier sexual- assault case when she told him of the alleged incidents involving Peters, who she said was then a pastor at the 2nd Baptist Church in Boulder, which she attended.
The alleged victim said Peters, who was her choir director and the youth minister for the church, was counseling her beginning in mid-2003 in connection with the earlier sexual assault, according to the affidavit.
She told police she met with Peters a couple of times a week. Sometimes they went dancing, sometimes they would sit for hours in front of her home, sometimes she would babysit his children at his Denver home. On some occasions, she said, Peters would fondle her through her clothes, the affidavit reported.
One night, while she was 17, she spent the night on a couch at Peters’ home after babysitting. The next morning he engaged in sexual intercourse with her in his bedroom, the document said.
Anyone with information on Peters is urged to call the child abuse unit at 720-913-6050 or Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or jkirksey@denverpost.com.
