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Treatment Center Teacher Admits To
Brief Affair With Teen
June 14, 2007
Previous article July 27, 2006 -
Female Teacher Accused Of Having Affair With
16-Year-Old Student
 LAKEWOOD,
Colo. -- A 27-year-old English teacher and part-time counselor at a
residential treatment center for teens appeared Thursday in court
and was sentenced for having sexual contact with a 16-year-old boy
at the facility.
Michelle Leigh Tolar had worked at
Jefferson Hills Residential Treatment Center in Lakewood for two
years. Tolar admitted to being in a short, consensual relationship
with a teen at the facility.
The teen was placed in the facility
by court order. The center treats at-risk males and females between
12 and 20 years old with severe emotional and behavioral problems.
On March 9, Tolar pleaded guilty to
felony charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and
attempted sexual assault on a child. She was sentenced Thursday to
10 years of sex offender intensive supervision probation with four
months in jail as a condition of probation. Tolar must also register
as a sex offender.
Jefferson Hills Residential
Treatment Center is not part of nor affiliated with the Jefferson
County Public School District. It is a nonprofit behavioral
treatment center overseen by the Division of Childcare, the Division
of Youth Corrections and the Division of Mental Health.
Female Teacher Accused Of Having
Affair With 16-Year-Old Student
July 27, 2006
 LAKEWOOD,
Colo -- A 26-year-old teacher at a residential treatment center in
Lakewood is accused of having a sexual relationship with a
16-year-old student at the facility.
Michelle Leigh Tolar was arrested
Wednesday afternoon after being interviewed by detectives. Lakewood
police were tipped by a counselor about a possible relationship
between Tolar and a male student at Jefferson Hills Residential
Treatment Center.
The student, as with other teens
who are housed there, was placed in the facility by court order. The
center treats at-risk males and females between 12 and 20 years old
with severe emotional and behavioral problems.
Tolar has been a teacher at the
facility for approximately two years but had only met the teen
recently when he became a client a few months ago, police said.
Detectives will present the case to
the district attorney for review and the filing of charges. Tolar
faces charges of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of
trust and sexual assault.
"It is the adult that has the
responsibility to know that this is wrong. It doesn't really matter
how much that juvenile thinks it is OK and how mature that juvenile
thinks they are, it is still illegal to have this type of
relationship," said Steve Davis of the Lakewood police.
Even if that teen wanted to be in
the relationship, it is still detrimental to the child later on,
said Ed Cable of the Colorado Psychological Association. "It can
really screw up any kind of relationship you have in the future as
an adult because it ruins your ability to trust people, self concept
and approval."
Jefferson Hills Residential
Treatment Center is not part of nor affiliated with the Jefferson
County Public School District. It is a nonprofit behavioral
treatment center overseen by the Division of Childcare, the Division
of Youth Corrections and the Division of Mental Health.
According to Jeff Holliday, the
director of Jefferson Hills Residential Treatment Center, the center
takes many precautions to prevent this from happening, such as doing
background checks and providing extensive training. He said that was
done with Tolar and she no longer works there.
"We are very committed to the kids
that we serve and their families and the community," said Holliday.
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