Former Gunnison High School math teacher and basketball coach Thomas Kattnig now faces ten felony charges of sexual assault on a child from someone in a position of trust, and two misdemeanor charges of harassment.
Kattnig worked in the Gunnison Watershed School District for nearly 30 years. Last summer, he was charged with a felony count of “sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust” in late May. At the time of his arrest, he’d already been placed on leave by the district for nearly six months, following a report from a student that they may have been touched inappropriately. (For more on Kattnig’s arrest, see the June 6, 2024 edition of the Times). Soon after the charge came down from the Gunnison District Attorney’s Office, Kattnig resigned.
The charge was based on a student’s testimony that Kattnig inappropriately touched them on a bus on the way to an away basketball game in Cedaredge in late 2021, according to the arrest affidavit. This is also why the case is being handled in Delta District Court, and was investigated by law enforcement officers in both counties.
The District Attorney’s office submitted a second and third amended complaint over the next six months, in which the number of charges grew to seven, and then 12. Kattnig now faces ten felony charges of sexual assault on a child, all including the designation of being perpetrated by one in position of trust. Several charges add language specifying a pattern of abuse, or that the alleged victim is less than 15 years old. Court records suggest that the charges are related to five separate alleged victims.
Kattnig appeared in Delta District Court several times over the last six months for the purpose of entering a plea. At each hearing, either Kattnig's defense counsel Daniel Shaffer or Deputy District Attorney Brannon Jordan requested more time to review the charges and negotiate. Jordan said the DA’s office offered one plea agreement, but Kattnig and his lawyer refused it. At a hearing on Jan. 27, Kattning did not enter a plea and the case was continued to a preliminary hearing on Feb. 21, from 1-5 p.m. A preliminary hearing allows the court to determine if prosecutors have enough evidence for probable cause, and to proceed to trial.
The school district conducted its own investigation prior to Kattnig’s formal arrest, which ended in April. Since then, the district has not received any further formal complaints that prompted investigation, Superintendent Leslie Nichols told the Times. The district is continuing to cooperate with law enforcement as necessary, she said.
Since Kattnig’s arrest, the district has initiated more sexual assault awareness training for its staff, Nichols said. The district already requires annual mandatory reporter training, which will continue. It added — and made mandatory — adult sexual misconduct training for all staff, conducted this year by Colorado School Safety Resource Center.
The administration is also designing improved training around harassment and discrimination, which includes sex-based harassment. This is meant to bolster teachers’ ability to recognize various forms of these behaviors early, and prevent them from continuing.
In district health education classes, students learn to differentiate between safe and unsafe touch, and what consent is. They also have access to Safe2Tell, an anonymous online reporting platform where they can share concerns about harassment, suicide, bullying, threats made against the school and more.
(Abby Harrison can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or abby@gunnisontimes.com.)
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