Teacher gets only 90 days as part of a plea deal for sexually assaulting a student

On July 8th 37-year-old Gabriel Alsina, a former drama teacher at Vista PEAK Preparatory School in Aurora, Colorado pleaded guilty to a single charge of attempted sexual assault as a part of a plea agreement. The other charges against him were dropped as a part of the agreement.

Alsina was initially arrested in 2018 and charged with sexual assault and pattern of abuse for assaulting a student "at school, in his car and in his home over a two-year period."

On August 10th he was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 5 years "sex offender intensive supervised probation," and was ordered to pay nearly $6,000 in court fees.  It was the maximum sentence the judge could give under the plea agreement.

The Arapahoe County District Attorney's office released information on the sentencing on Friday the 21st.

Alsina will additionally be forced to surrender his teaching license and register as a sex offender.

“Parents send their kids to school thinking their children are going to be safe. The teacher should not be one of the things they are afraid of,”  Deputy District Attorney Lisa Gramer stated during sentencing arguments.

The victim and her parents also spoke during the hearing.

Alsina had “posed as a concerned teacher who wanted to help her,” the victim’s mother said. “But he played on her weaknesses, and he is a pedophile.”

“I was sexually abused by a teacher who wheedled his way into my heart,” the victim said. “His hands were constantly touching me in ways no adult should be touching a child. A teacher meant to protect me was the one hurting me.  I silenced myself for a predator … Now I want justice for the little girl he hurt.”

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Shay Whitaker praised the victim for coming forward saying, “You did the right thing in reporting it. I hope you are in a place you can start moving past that.”

Addressing Alsina she stated, “When you are dealing with a teacher and a student, there a line, and that line cannot be crossed.  It was your job to draw that line in the sand.”