Thomas Kattnig, a former Gunnison High School math teacher and basketball coach, pleaded not guilty to 10 felony counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a “position of trust” in Delta District Court on March 10. He pleaded not guilty to two additional charges of misdemeanor harassment.
Kattnig worked in the Gunnison Watershed School District for nearly 30 years. In late May 2024, he was charged with the first felony count. 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. Soon after the charge came down from the Seventh Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Kattnig resigned.
The District Attorney’s office submitted a second and third amended complaint over the following six months. The number of charges grew to seven, and then 12. Several charges have language specifying a pattern of abuse, or that the alleged victim is less than 15 years old. Two are harassment charges.
At a plea hearing on March 10, Kattnig pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial. The eight-day trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 28, 2025 in Delta at 9 a.m. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Sept. 22 at 11 a.m.
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)
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