Attorneys seek to resolve case of El Paso County church music teacher accused of sexually assaulting children | Courts
Attorneys on Monday stated in court that they were working toward a resolution in the case where a former El Paso County music teacher is accused of sexually assaulting multiple children.
Robert Gordon, 58, a former church music teacher and bus driver accused of sexually assaulting three children appeared in court on Monday morning for an arraignment hearing, where attorneys stated they are working toward a plea deal in the case.
Prosecutors brought charges against Gordon after the parents of a 14-year-old boy reported finding inappropriate text messages between their son and Gordon, who was a friend of the family, according to Gordon’s arrest affidavit.
Then, at Gordon’s first appearance on April 20, he had two new cases filed against him, where he faced accusations of sexually assaulting children. At Gordon’s preliminary hearing on May 15, prosecutor Kelson Castain told the judge that the prosecution would consolidate charges from the three cases into one case.
At a hearing in June, the prosecution confirmed that three underage victims are accusing Gordon of sexual assault.
On Monday, attorneys confirmed that an out-of-court resolution was being discussed, and requested thatJudge Samuel Evig push back Gordon’s arraignment date.
Evig granted the request, scheduling a new arraignment date of Oct. 3, but did so noting that the results of a pending mitigation hearing will determine whether Gordon instead proceeds directly to a sentencing hearing.
Evig said that if both parties return in October without a resolution, he will require Gordon to enter a not guilty plea and schedule a trial date, acknowledging that isn’t the desired outcome of the families of the victims.
In addition to the current charges, Gordon was the subject of a yearlong investigation in El Paso County that began in August 2011, according to previous reporting by The Gazette. A male victim reported that he and Gordon allegedly had a sexual relationship in 2001 when the boy was around 12 years old. He was said to have met Gordon at a church in Security-Widefield.
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In a 2011 interview with an El Paso County sheriff’s deputy during that investigation, Gordon admitted to having a sexual relationship with the boy, according to the affidavit.
Of the eight charges brought against Gordon in that case, four were dismissed by the district attorney and he was acquitted of the other four by a jury in 2014. He pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust with a victim under the age of 15 and two counts of sexual assault on a child with a pattern of sexual abuse.
Around the time of that alleged relationship , a jury acquitted Gordon in a separate case in 2001, when he faced two counts of sexual assault on a child with force and sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, court records show. Gordon was found not guilty in that case in February 2001.
In that case, a 14-year-old boy accused Gordon of having sexual intercourse with him “quite a few” times while the boy slept over at Gordon’s house in 1996. The teen alleged that the first incident happened when he was 12 or 13, according to the affidavit.
Gordon was convicted of harboring a runaway child, a misdemeanor, in 1998, and was sentenced to a one-year unsupervised deferred sentence.
Gordon currently faces 10 charges, including three counts of sexually assaulting a child from a position of trust, three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a child and other crimes.
Gordon remains in custody at the El Paso County jail on a $100,000 bond.
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