Editor’s note: Charges against Kristen Barnett were dropped after this story was published.
On Jan. 28, at approximately 8 a.m., Nederland preschool teacher Kristen Carol Barnett, 38, turned herself in at the Boulder County Jail after being charged with one count of sex assault on a child by someone in a position of trust, a class 3 felony.
Barnett began teaching at the Over the Rainbow Preschool in Nederland last year.
Police say the mother of the reported victim, a student at the school, contacted the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 10 to report her suspicion that a teacher at the preschool had sexually assaulted the child.
Officials say an investigation conducted by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and Boulder County Health and Human Services led investigators to believe that a crime had been committed, and the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant. Bond was set at $10,000.
Though the preschool is located within the city limits of Nederland, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the investigation at the request of the Nederland Marshal’s Office.
The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information pertaining to the case can call Det. Ali Thompson at 303-441-3643.
