The former chief of schools in the Jefferson County district has died amid an investigation involving his possession of child pornography.
David Weiss was fired by Jefferson County Public Schools less than a month ago in connection with that investigation.
Deputies from Maryland’s Washington County Sheriff’s Office informed the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office of Weiss’ death by suicide Wednesday. JCSO says Weiss was visiting family in Maryland when he died.
According to the district’s website, Weiss worked in public education for 19 years. He served as the principal of Westgate Elementary School for five years and a high school assistant principal prior to that.
When Weiss was fired, officials declined to reveal the nature of the investigation that led to his dismissal. Now that it is known that he was being investigated for possessing child pornography, anxious parents want to know more, including whether any Jeffco students may be victims. The Jeffco Sheriff’s Office said they would not reveal any additional details of the investigation until after it is complete.
Parents like Lindsay Datko are frustrated.
“People are really reeling and upset to hear the reality [of Weiss’ death] but also confident that there's more to the story,” Datko said. “I think with this new development, it only heightened the worry of how severe this actually is.”
The allegations against Weiss were the fifth such case in JeffCo Public Schools in 2024.
The first happened in January 2024 when Imagine Ewer was taken into custody for several charges including sexual assault on a child by a person of trust, unlawful electronic sexual communication, and sexual exploitation of a child. She was a paraprofessional, or classroom aide, at Brady Exploration High School.
The second arrest followed an incident on Valentine’s Day when two boys under the age of 15 said Luis Fernando Robles-Luevanos, a family liaison at Creighton Middle School, called them into his office to perform what he called ‘medical exams’. Lakewood Police placed him under arrest on several counts including sexual assault on a child by a person of trust.
Justin Martinez, who worked at several JeffCo schools in afterschool care programs, was arrested May 1, 2024 for sexual assault on a child, though details in his case were not released.
On November 5, Chloe Castro, a social worker in the district, was arrested after a juvenile’s parents found inappropriate messages from Castro on his phone. She was arrested on a charge of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust with a pattern of abuse. The teen told police the relationship began when he was 11.
“We have been advocating for greater safety measures, and one of those is that JeffCo allows their employees to self-identify as trusted adults to children in their schools,” said Datko.
George Mumma Jr., a retired Morrison police chief with a long history of working in crimes against children units, advocated against the ability of teachers to self-identify as trusted adults at a JeffCo school board meeting on June 22, 2023. Something Datko says went ignored by the district.
“When the school district started saying that they were going to make teachers or whoever a trusted adult, it raised the hair on the back of my neck,” Mumma said. “My question is who does the training? Who determines whether or not this person's capable of being the trusted adult and are parents being involved in that discussion? Right now, I don't think any of that's happening.”
Mumma says in his years working with juvenile victims, many told him it was someone they believed to be a trusted adult who abused them.
“It's not for a teacher or some school administrator or some school attorney to decide,” Mumma said. “The parent is the trusted adult and parents decide whether a child should be trusting so-and-so.”
CPR News reached out to the school district about the Weiss case and the ability for teachers to self-identify as "trusted." The district has not yet responded.
“The only acceptable response at this point from the superintendent is to come out harshly and fiercely in regards to what her expectations are and what will happen to those who breach the trust of our children,” Datko said.
If you need help, dial 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also reach the Colorado Crisis Services hotline at 1-844-493-8255 or text “TALK” to 38255 to speak with a trained counselor or professional. Counselors are also available at walk-in locations or online to chat.
