AURORA | A Wheeling Elementary School teacher has been placed on administrative leave after being accused of masturbating in a Littleton YMCA shower near an 11-year-old boy, according to school officials, court documents and reports by 9News.
Arapahoe County court records say Michael Warner, 48, was late arrested late in September in connection with indecent exposure charges stemming from Sept 9 allegations at a Littleton YMCA.
Attorneys for Warner deny the allegations, pushing back against a statement by an YMCA employee who reported the incident.
An Aurora Public Schools news release says Warner has been placed on paid administrative leave pending further legal action.
9News reporting from Arapahoe County court records said a personal trainer at the facility observed Warner of “masturbating in a shower at the Littleton Family YMCA on 11 West Dry Creek Court while looking into another shower where an 11-year-old boy was bathing.”
Court records show that the trainer was suspicious of Warner because of previous, undisclosed behavior around children at the YMCA.
Warner was arrested on Sept. 30.
Warner’s attorney said the allegations were “baseless and false,” 9News reported. “Mr. Warner is a family man and has been a highly respected teacher in the same Aurora school for many years. Before this allegation, he had never been accused of any type of sexual offense,” said attorney Douglas Cohen. He said Warner had been going to the YMCA for 15 years without incident, and that the trainer, who was the only witness, had been at the gym only a few months.
9NEWS received this response from the Aurora Public Schools district:
“Aurora Public Schools was shocked to learn of the charges brought against Michael Warner. We are deeply concerned by his arrest and want to emphasize that we do not tolerate inappropriate behavior by staff.
Warner is a teacher at Wheeling Elementary and started his employment at the school during the 2001-2002 school year. As is standard procedure, Warner has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Once we received permission from the 18th Judicial District, we notified parents of students at Wheeling Elementary. We sent a call home to parents and a letter is in the mail. We expect the letter to arrive at homes tomorrow.
When any employee is hired in Aurora Public Schools, we conduct a full background check, including a Colorado Bureau of Investigation review. The background check for this employee did not indicate any prior inappropriate behavior with students or criminal activity.
Aurora Public Schools is committed to providing every student with a safe and positive learning experience, every day.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this story.
I hope prison rape is in his near future.
You are as perverted as he allegedly is.
No withersteen, for me to be like this scum, I would have to be predator and seek out children in a YMCA then masturbate while watching a child. You sick bastard calling prison rape this terrible. Sorta odd you jumping out and defending a person accused of such behavior. Do you think the YMCA staff just had it out for him? Also our prison system is legendary when it comes to child molesters. He might have a rough time if convicted…
You’re the one with the sick desire for rape, and more rape. I’ll trust the criminal justice system on this one, not your need for personal defilement.
I don’t think more rape, now that’s going a bit far. Like one rape that’s it withersteen. Just one, like how many rapes were you thinking? I don’t think he will even be in jail that long. I also think there is a wing in the larger prisons for child molesters. Still not sure on trusting the criminal justice when it comes to protecting inmates against rape. They have a pretty poor record.
OK, then. Just one rape. Perhaps you should give it to him, you know, so he gets it real good. Then maybe you’ll both be satisfied.
That makes no sense withersteen. For one, you are weird, super weird. For two, I am not in prison. It cannot be prison rape when one person is out of prison and the other is in prison. With that scenario at best it could be consensual prison phone sex. For two if we both enjoy it, it is not rape. Are you saying rape victims enjoy the rape? WTF is wrong with you withersteen. Have a little respect for victims of rape withersteen.