DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. – A former Douglas County, Colorado School District staffer arrested Friday on sexual exploitation of a child charges recorded “upskirt” videos of at least two underage girls and several other women, according to police records released Monday.
Steven Michael Jenkins, 55, made his first court appearance Monday morning. He is being investigated on sexual exploitation of a child charges.
A judge on Monday ordered Jenkins not to have contact with anyone under age 18, to stay at least 100 yards away from Renaissance Secondary School, where he had been a staffer, and mandated that he have no unsupervised access to the internet or computers. Jenkins’ bond was set at $5,000.
According to a probable cause statement for Jenkins’ arrest, the investigation started Dec. 3, when Renaissance’s principal called officers to the school to report that a school staffer “had been using their phone inappropriately.”
The document says that two students had reported to the principal that sometime earlier in the school year, they had seen Jenkins recording videos underneath two girls’ skirts or shorts.
Jenkins was “an instructional coach” at the school and did not actually teach students or give any grades, school officials told police. He started working at Renaissance in August, and worked at Castle View High School for at least five years beforehand. He had been teaching for 29 years, police said.
The day after the school’s principal alerted police to Jenkins’ possible phone misuse, a Castle Rock police officer went to the school to interview Jenkins.
Jenkins willingly allowed the officer to look through his phone, according to the police document. While Jenkins initially said there was nothing he shouldn’t have on the phone, once the officer opened the videos tab of the phone and mentioned there were “a lot of strange angles” in some of the videos, Jenkins “suddenly reached for the phone and attempted to take it” away from the officer, the officer wrote.
The officer wrote in his report that it appeared Jenkins “was trying to hide something,” and that shortly afterward, Jenkins started admitting there were inappropriate videos on the phone.
Initially he said that the videos depicted his wife, but then admitted some of them showed other women and that he had shot video “up their skirt and underwear.”
The officer wrote that Jenkins changed his story several times, however, but eventually admitted shooting the videos was “a sexual thing” and that he “should probably call a lawyer.”
The officer seized Jenkins’ phone, which was not issued by the school, as well as his school-issued computer.
Upon further inspection of the videos, the police document notes, officers were able to find the faces of the two underage girls Jenkins allegedly recorded videos of.
They found “approximately 20 videos” that showed “upskirt” shorts of 10 different adult women, the probable cause statement states, one video from under the skirt of one of the underage girls that showed the girl’s underwear and buttocks, and another video that showed the other underage girl’s buttocks.
Castle Rock police said they were able to positively identify the two girls, and said that Jenkins either tried or succeeded to video tape three girls under their skirts or dresses.
The probable cause statement further says that Jenkins was terminated by the school district. Castle Rock police ask anyone with more information about Jenkins to call 303-663-6100.
Formal charges against Jenkins are expected to be filed by Dec. 14, according to court records.
