Austin Trahern will serve no additional jail time after pleading guilty to having sexual intercourse with a Cañon City High School student.

Trahern, 24, was a former student teacher at Cañon City Middle School and coach in the Cañon City School District. In June 2016, he had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old female CCHS student.

According to the arrest affidavit, the incident occurred while Trahern was a physical education student teacher at CCMS and worked as a jump coach for the CCHS track team.

Trahern reportedly had flirted with the victim since the start of track season. The affidavit also said he forced the victim’s head into his groin, and after the victim reportedly refused to undress, took her clothes off and forced her legs open.

“I did not want to do it, but I didn’t specifically say no just because I didn’t know that the effects of that would be,” the victim said in the affidavit.

On Friday, Trahern appeared for sentencing along with a crowd of supporters.

In May, Trahern accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust and to sexual assault without consent.

“I apologize to the community for my actions. Words cannot express how sorry I am to the victim and the victim’s family,” Trahern said before a sentenced was decided, adding he has asked forgiveness from God and from members of the community.

Trahern’s attorney, Richard Tegtmeier, while giving argument said, “Austin Trahern is a good person, he just did a bad thing.”

He continued by saying Trahern is a person with good character, but he had bad judgment in an isolated incident, and that he’s shown remorse toward his actions as is clear with all the people present in the courtroom who he apologized to and who wrote letters of support for Trahern.

Tegtmeier also stated that this incident wasn’t a case of grooming either, and is something that he would never do again.

Tegtmeier also said the incident has caused Trahern to develop an eating disorder, which has led him to lose 30 pounds and has sought out mental treatment since the incident.

However, Deputy District Attorney Thom LeDoux said in his argument this was a case of grooming, and that Trahern scored as a level two denier in one of the pre-sentencing reports.

LeDoux said Trahern had pleaded guilty to the crime, which he commended, but the crime itself had multiple aggravating circumstances.

“It was clear the defendant was well aware with the conduct he was engaging in. He was aware the conduct was inappropriate and illegal,” LeDoux said, further explaining how Trahern was specifically warned by a fellow coach to stop what he was doing with the victim.

LeDoux argued Trahern knew what he was doing was illegal the day of the assault as he instructed the victim to walk away several blocks from the high school before he picked her up in his truck.

He also argued Trahern had a consciousness of guilt after the incident, as Trahern dropped the victim off several blocks away from the high school and then gave her $20 to purchase the morning after pill. LeDoux also pointed at that the morning after pill costs about double than what Trahern thought to give to the victim.

In regards to Trahern being listed as a level two denier, LeDoux said according to one of the sentencing reports, Trahern puts some of the blame on the victim.

“None of the blame in any circumstance should be place on the victim,” LeDoux said.

LeDoux asked the court to focus on the victim’s perspective as a 15-year old girl and the position she was placed in, and how the incident has affected her life.

However, District Judge Ramsey Lama said he felt the plea agreement was appropriate, and didn’t think additional jail time would serve any other purpose than as punishment.

Lama said Trahern will have to register as a sex offender and will not be able to teach again because of the offense.

Lama sentenced Trahern to 29 days of jail, with 29 days of credit, followed by five years of probation. Trahern will also have to register as an offender, be on monitored sobriety and take mental health treatment.

Trahern was expected to be released out of custody on Friday evening.

Sarah Matott: 719-276-7648, matotts@canoncitydailyrecord.com