A teacher and coach for Jefferson County Public Schools is facing possible charges of sexual assault on a child after he was discovered in a cabin with a 17-year-old runaway.
Michael Steven Bueno, 47, a physical education teacher at West Jefferson Middle School, was taken into custody about 12:40 a.m. Wednesday at a cabin in Pine, according to court documents obtained by 9Wants to Know.
Bueno was placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation, said Diana Wilson, a spokeswoman for Jeffco Public Schools.
He was being held on $25,000 bail on suspicion of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He is scheduled to be in court for a decision on the formal filing of charges at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
The incident began when a woman called Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and reported that her 17-year-old daughter had run away. The woman suggested the girl may have gone to a summer cabin the family owns in Pine, and deputies went there.
After they arrived, the deputies saw smoke coming from the chimney and a vehicle parked outside, then located the girl and Bueno inside.
The girl told deputies that she had been arguing with her mother and decided to call her “friend Michael” who she said she knew because he had taught at Conifer High School, where she is a student, according to the arrest affidavit obtained by 9NEWS.
Inside the cabin, deputies found three six-packs of Smirnoff Ice – four bottles were empty, and six others were open. That led to the charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the affidavit.
Wednesday morning, additional investigation led to the additional allegation of sexual assault on a child.
Bueno is currently a physical education teacher at West Jefferson Middle School and an assistant football coach at Conifer High.
Wilson, the district spokeswoman, said Bueno was hired by Jeffco Public Schools in 2011 and began work at West Jefferson Middle School in 2012. He has also coached at Standley Lake and Pomona high schools.
