A former Douglas County High School teacher is headed to jail after a student he once taught stood a few feet away in a Castle Rock courtroom and described how his actions still haunt her.
James Thomure, 57, was sentenced Friday to 300 days in jail and eight years of intensive sex-offender probation after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and child abuse in connection with an incident involving a 17-year-old student in May 2024. The teen told the court the encounter “has stayed with me for years.” Court records show Thomure is no longer employed by the Douglas County School District and that he accepted the plea agreement.
How prosecutors say it happened
According to prosecutors, the episode began after Thomure finished proctoring an exam for three students. When two of them left the room, he stayed behind with the remaining 17-year-old and groped her, then tried to kiss her. He allegedly told the student he would like to “do things to her,” suggested meeting at a park over the summer for sexual activity, and later drove her to her car and gave her his phone number, according to an arrest affidavit and local reporting.
Investigators said video from the school and other evidence backed up the student’s account. As detailed by Douglas County News Press, the teen reported what happened to a trusted adult, who in turn contacted the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office…