A former Jeffco Public Schools counselor is set to face trial on charges of sexual assault on a child after allegedly starting a relationship with a 14-year-old student.

Chloe Castro appeared in a Jefferson County District Court room in front of Judge Diego Hunt for a pre-trial conference Monday morning. Her defense attorney, Marshall Breit, noted that Castro had pleaded not guilty to the charge of sexual assault on a child in a position of trust with a pattern of abuse on June 30, potentially taking the case to trial in December.

“There’s a lot going on with this case,” Breit said, adding that he does not believe the case will actually go to trial and could end in a plea deal.

First Judicial Chief Deputy District Attorney Tyra Forbes said the hold up in the case was due to the need to go over an “extensive evaluation” with the parents of the 14-year-old student.

Castro was initially arrested by the Arvada Police Department on Nov. 6. She was 28-years-old at the time.

Castro worked as a social worker at Manning Middle School, Drake Middle School, and Wheat Ridge High School since August 2024, according to Jeffco Public Schools.

Before that, Castro worked at Three Creeks K-8 as a school social worker from Jan. 4. 2022 to May 13, 2024, and at Columbine Hills and Leawood Elementary schools as a social-emotional learning specialist from Aug. 3, 2021 to Jan. 4, 2022.

The parents contacted the police department on Oct. 29 and “provided evidence” of a sexual relationship between the victim and Castro. The relationship had lasted over multiple years through Instagram messages, according to the arrest records.

Castro met the victim while working in the district and claimed to have started talking to the boy in May 2024.

According to arrest records, Castro told the boy they couldn’t have sex until he turned eighteen, but there was cuddling, kissing and police found nude photos on Castro’s phone. The alleged victim also told investigators that he and Castro shared nude photographs and intimately touched each other in Castro’s school office.

Castro was married with a step-child at the time.

The two discussed starting a new life together in Taos, New Mexico after he was 18 where they would buy some land and “ride around,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Student advocacy group, Jeffco Kids First, claimed to The Denver Gazette that the district was involved in a previous settlement with Castro and another family. 

Castro’s case was one of six sexual misconduct-related incidents throughout the district since the end of 2023, including an investigation into David Weiss, the school district’s former chief of schools, that involved possession of child sexual assault material in December.

Castro is out on a $75,000 bond and due back in court for a status conference on Oct. 10.