A 29-year-old female teacher at Brighton Charter High School is suspected of having sex with a 17-year-old male student – making her the second staffer at the school accused of having sexual contact with a student in the past year.
The Brighton Police Department filed a sexual-assault case against Carrie McCandless with the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday. She was fired from the school this week.
McCandless is the wife of the Brighton school’s principal, Chris McCandless. The alleged assault took place in October during an outing in Estes Park.
On Oct. 23, David Wayne Mundy Jr., 31, a former substitute teacher at the school, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, said Michael Goodbee, a spokesman for the Adams County District Attorney.
Mundy Jr. is the son of David Wayne Mundy, chairman of the charter school board.
“He wasn’t a substitute when it happened,” Mundy Sr. said Thursday. “That is all blown out of shape here.”
Brighton police said Mundy Jr. assaulted a teenage girl at his home in December 2005. The incident involved kissing and fondling one of three teen girls, ages 14 to 16, who were with him that night, said John Bradley, a Brighton police spokesman.
One of the girls, a student at Brighton Charter, met Mundy Jr. at the school, police said.
Mundy Sr. declined to discuss his son’s case in detail and said he couldn’t talk about the pending case against McCandless.
“Until the investigation is over with, we are not allowed to speak of it,” Mundy Sr. said.
The Larimer County DA’s office hasn’t decided what charges to file, if any, against McCandless, spokeswoman Linda Jensen said.
McCandless and Mundy Jr. couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.
Brighton Charter, which opened in 1998, has an enrollment of 215 students.
Terry Gogerty, a founder and former president of the school, said the charter has good leadership and strives to protect its children.
“There is training regarding sexual harassment and reporting suspected sex assaults to social services; those are standard,” Gogerty said.
Gogerty, who is no longer affiliated with the school, said community support for Brighton Charter is strong.
“This will be a difficult challenge,” he said. “I’m confident they will make it through this.”
Mundy Jr. is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 11.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
