A former Arvada teacher arrested Monday for reportedly creating and selling child sexual assault material was found to have violated St. Vrain Valley School District policies in 2023 for interactions he had with students at Erie Middle School, and officials recommended the teacher not return to the district.
That finding was not shared with Jefferson County School District when it hired the teacher, according to an arrest affidavit.
Patricio Alejandro Illanes, 39, faces 40 counts of sexual exploitation of a child in addition to 10 counts of unlawful practice of occupation or profession, according to a Boulder County Sheriff’s Office release.
Illanes reportedly photographed or took videos of at least 10 students at four different schools or youth program locations, including Centaurus High School, New Meridian High School and Erie Middle School, over the course of nine years, according to an arrest affidavit.
In 2023, a school employee reported to an Erie police school resource officer that he had overheard a 14-year-old boy describe an interaction he had with Illanes to another student.
The boy said Illanes had asked him to stay after class to help him with a video project, and the boy agreed, according to the affidavit. Illanes then instructed the boy to remove his shirt and shoes and pretend to be a lifeguard. The student said Illanes told him that he would pretend to chloroform him and instructed the student to pretend to be knocked out.
When Erie police interviewed Illanes, he “provided a similar story” but said he never touched the students inappropriately and that their shirts remained on, according to the affidavit. Illanes gave police the videos he had recorded, which showed the interaction described by the student, but with the student wearing a lifeguard shirt over a long-sleeve shirt.
Two other minors later told police Illanes asked them to help him with a project, then videotaped or photographed them in costumes.
In an October 2025 interview with police, Illanes said he did not use the videos for sexual gratification and understood the incident was “not an appropriate thing,” according to the affidavit.
The Erie police criminal investigation into the incident was “unfounded,” according to the affidavit.
An SVVSD internal investigation found that Illanes had violated district policies and recommended that he “not return” to Erie Middle School or any school in the district.
Illanes resigned in December that year. He was hired to work at Arvada Senior High School in 2024.
Jefferson County School District officials told police they never received the SVVSD internal investigation report, and had they known about it, they wouldn’t have hired Illanes, the affidavit stated.
SVVSD officials told police Jeffco officials had not asked for the report and that they had been served a court document restricting them from sharing it, but did not provide the court document to police, according to the affidavit.
SVVSD officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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