Former teacher, coach indicted; accused of destroying evidence of alleged affair

GOLDEN - A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted a former Jefferson County teacher and coach on a charge of tampering/destruction of physical evidence.

Our partners at the Denver Post report that according to the indictment, Nicole Marie Sirbu, 29, exchanged e-mails with a 17-year-old Columbine student using her work e-mail address and her work laptop. Sirbu was a teacher at Stony Creek Elementary School and a coach for the combined Columbine and Chatfield high school pole-vaulting team from Sept. 1, 2006, until Oct. 1, 2007. She resigned five days after the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office began investigating an allegation that Sirbu had "inappropriate sexual contact" with the student.

When Sirbu turned in her school district-issued laptop, investigators discovered the laptop's hard drive had been replaced. According to the indictment, Sirbu bought a new hard drive of the same size from a Best Buy store on Oct. 1.

According to The Post, Sirbu, who is free on a $1,000 bond, is scheduled to appear next month in court on the charges.