AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — A former Aurora school resource officer is accused of sending explicit and inappropriate text messages to a 16-year-old high school student, who sat down with FOX31 to share her story.

Egide Ndagije was an SRO at Aurora Central High School and is now facing charges because of those texts. FOX31 obtained the messages, which show the former Aurora officer inquiring about the teen’s sexual history and her underwear.

Because the student, now 17, is a minor and a victim of alleged sexual misconduct, FOX31 is not identifying her name or showing her face.

“I just had that feeling in my stomach like this isn’t right. I should say something, but also I needed the help and I was vulnerable,” the teen said.

Months removed from the initial incident, the teen said she no longer trusts adults or law enforcement and feels that her vulnerability was violated. The girl said through tears that the trauma still haunts her today.

“It’s a lot of emotions to take in for a 16-year-old,” she cried. “Being taken advantage of while trying to get help and then the whole time he’s just having ill intentions with me. It’s sick.”

Text messages begin when teen seeks help from SRO

In October 2023, Ndagije was an Aurora police officer and worked as an SRO at Aurora Central High School. At the time, the 16-year-old attended Central High and said Ndagije had a good relationship with students and was someone she trusted and would go to during break or on lunch.

The teen said when she relocated to Fort Collins, Ndagije gave the 16-year-old his phone number in case she needed anything. A police source confirmed with FOX31 that it was Ndagije’s personal phone number.

The teen said she reached out to the SRO because she needed help. According to an investigation by Aurora’s Internal Affairs Bureau, the teen was seeking help about a possible domestic violence situation.

Text messages between Ndagije and the teen state she and her family were being harassed by an ex-boyfriend. The 29-page thread of text messages was exchanged over 24 hours. The correspondence was provided to FOX31 by the family’s attorney, Matthew Haltzman.

“This activity is totally predatory,” Haltzman said. “It was really difficult as a father and as a lawyer to see those kinds of messages being sent from an adult to a child. It was disturbing.”

In those messages, the 16-year-old types: ”I really need help with something. It’s taking a toll on me and idk what to do…please.” She added in several other messages that she was “really really scared.”

Through multiple text exchanges, Ndagije offers advice about her ex-boyfriend, asks questions about her day and engages in personal conversations. Ndagije asks the teen what time she went to bed and how she slept. He also tells her she looks great when discussing her workout regimen, tells her she’s a grown woman and also tells the teen he’s about to shower.

More of those text messages show Ndagije saying more than once: “Did you tell your mom that you were texting me, a cop?” He also texted: ”Don’t tell anyone we talked or we speak,” and he also asked her twice to download WhatsApp so they can text there.

Ndagije follows with more messages that read: “Don’t hesitate to talk to me or text me whenever,” “I am your friend” and “I’m here for you.”

The most brazen text messages show Ndagije asking the 16-year-old if her mother still buys her panties and asking how many sexual encounters she’s had.

“I trusted you and you basically stabbed me in the back,” the teen said of Ndagije. “Just took advantage of me coming to you for help. I was just uncomfortable. I started to second-guess myself. Am I just overthinking it? I already have a lot going on and was just questioning myself as a person.”

‘I feel like they failed my daughter’

The girl said immediately after the inappropriate messages, her intuition kicked in and she cut the conversation and told her parents about it. Her parents went straight to the Aurora Police Department with the information.

The victim’s mother spoke with FOX31 on camera but does not want to be identified for safety concerns.

“When I saw the text messages, I was completely disgusted,” the mother said. “Watching her go through it has been extremely emotional. She’s a different person and it’s really sad to see. I think that the Aurora Police Department needs to also take some ownership, and I feel like they failed my daughter.”

Police said the department received a misconduct complaint last year, notified Aurora Public Schools and placed Ndagije on administrative leave, per policy. Then an internal affairs investigation was opened and concluded with multiple policy violations, including making an untruthful declaration, not submitting evidence and accessing the criminal justice information system.

Haltzman, the family’s attorney, said Ndagije looked up the teen’s address in the police database, and a search of Ndagije’s personal phone found a picture of the 16-year-old from behind that he snapped without her knowing.

The report stated: “A supervisor found items in a bag belonging to Member 1 that should’ve been submitted to the property and evidence unit and had not been.”

Aurora police said Ndagije resigned before the investigation was complete, but the department would have fired him.

Former Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo requested the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent investigation. Based on those findings, the district attorney’s office charged the former SRO with three counts of official misconduct, which are misdemeanor offenses.

Haltzman said he’s planning to file a civil lawsuit on behalf of the family and alleges this is not the first incident.

“Part of the problem with this case is that there are other victims. We know that there are at least three victims in this case, but we expect that there’s many more,” Haltzman said.

Aurora Public Schools responds

After FOX31 requested comment, Aurora Public Schools released this statement: “School Resource Officers (SROs) are employed by the Aurora Police Department. We have been fully supportive of APD’s investigation into the conduct of one of its former employees. We take all reports of misconduct seriously and want to emphasize that safety is our top priority.”

Since there is a possibility there could be more victims, FOX31 asked the district multiple times if an alert went out to parents to notify them about the incident, but they have not responded to the question.

Despite the emotional trauma, the teen said she is brave enough to speak up for what is right and does not want anyone to suffer like she is. She said since the incident, she’s had to move schools twice, has become very isolated and was essentially robbed of her senior year.

“With this whole incident, I don’t have pictures to look back on. No prom,” the teen cried. “I don’t have friends. I’m just alone. It’s been really hard.”

Ndagije can no longer work as a police officer in Colorado. The former officer’s certification under Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training was revoked in March.

Ndagije is expected to appear in court on May 31. His attorney declined to comment.

See the original article here: https://kdvr.com/news/local/teen-victim-speaks-out-alleging-ex-aurora-sro-sent-her-inappropriate-texts/

Editor's note: This story was first published in April. This week it was featured in the CBS News Colorado special "Your Reporter: Covering Colorado First 2023."

Aurora police officer Egide Ndagije is new to golf, but you wouldn't know it by the way he drives. Maybe it's because he's just an all-around athlete, ever since his days at Aurora Central High School.

"I played sports there. Was in football, wrestling and track," Ndagije said. 

After graduation he became a police officer so he could give back to his community, starting with his alma mater. For six months he has been a school resource officer at Central.

One day he was talking with members of the girls' golf team about sports when they extended him an intriguing invitation.

"They asked me if I want to coach them," he said.

Egide had hardly ever played golf, but as is the case with all his students, he wanted to mentor these young women. So, he decided to pay them a visit one afternoon.

"I came to one practice and I enjoyed it, and I asked the head coach if I can assist and help them," Ndagije expressed.

His lack of experience didn't hold him back.

"I'm going to figure this out," he said. "I talked to the head coach I'm like, 'Hey, just let you know I'm going into this, but I don't know how to play golf.'"

The head coach of the team is teaching him before practice and he then passes on what he learns to his students on the team. It's a way to connect with them and help them, which is his ultimate goal.

"We just talk about other stuff their future what they want to do in the future and just try to connect with him," Ndagije said. 

Soon some of them will be graduating and moving on, and while he says it's sad, he hopes they will take what they learned on the course and use it to succeed in life.

He will probably still be on the course or anywhere a sport is being taught, so he can connect with his students on a deeper level through his love of sports.

As for golf, Egide says he thinks this is just the beginning for him.

"Now, I'm still young, but once I retire, I feel like this is going to be my sport," Ndagije said.

See the original article here: https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/aurora-school-resource-officer-using-love-sport-connect-students/

"I trusted this person, and then they stabbed me in my back," the teen told Denver7.

Denver7 AURORA, Colo. —  A former Aurora school resource officer (SRO) is facing criminal charges after he allegedly sent inappropriate texts to a 16-year-old student at Aurora Central High School.

Egide "DJ" Ndagije, 26, became an SRO in August 2022. He also was a coach for the girl's golf team.

In Oct. 2023, the teen reached out to Ndagije and reported that she was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend. Ndagije initially seemed helpful, but the messages took a disturbing turn, according to the girl.

"It just went downhill from there," said the teen, who asked Denver7 to conceal her identity. "I trusted this person, and then they stabbed me in my back."

The teen reported the inappropriate messages to the Aurora Police Department, which launched an internal affairs investigation. According to department documents, Ndagije took a photo of the girl without permission, sent her text messages asking about her body and underwear and used a law enforcement database to look up the girl and her family members.

"I was a little worried, but I felt like in the long run, it would be better for me to speak up," said the teen.

Ndagije was charged with three counts of official misconduct in March. He resigned from Aurora PD, but a department spokesperson said, "He would have been terminated had he not resigned." Additionally, the state revoked his Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification in March.

"He's no longer able to serve as a police officer in the state of Colorado," said Matthew Haltzman, an attorney for the girl.

Haltzman said they are working on a civil lawsuit against Ndagije. The attorney said it is unclear right now if they will include Aurora PD in the lawsuit.

Haltzman said they are also looking into Aurora Public Schools. He said to the best of his knowledge, the school did not warn parents about the allegations.

In a statement, Aurora Public Schools said, "School Resource Officers (SROs) are employed by the Aurora Police Department. We have been fully supportive of APD’s investigation into the conduct of one of its former employees. We take all reports of misconduct seriously and want to emphasize that safety is our top priority."

The teen girl said she had to transfer schools just before her graduation. She still lives with the impact of Ndagije's alleged actions.

"It's a lot to take in," said the teen. "It's hard for me to trust people again.”

See the original article here: https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/aurora/former-aurora-school-resource-officer-accused-of-sending-inappropriate-messages-to-a-16-year-old-student

Egide “DJ” Ndagije, who resigned in lieu of being fired, had worked as SRO at Aurora Central High School

The Denver Post - A former Aurora Police Department school resource officer is facing criminal charges after allegedly sending inappropriate texts to a 16-year-old girl while he was still on the force, according to court records and the girl’s attorney.

Egide “DJ” Ndagije, 26, was charged with three counts of official misconduct in March over allegations of wrongdoing that happened while he was working as the school resource officer at Aurora Central High School, court records show.

An Aurora Police Department internal affairs investigation found that Ndagije took a photo of a girl without permission, sent inappropriate texts to the girl and used a law enforcement database to look up the girl and her family members.

He resigned from the Aurora Police Department on Oct. 26 in lieu of termination while the investigation was ongoing, agency spokesman Matthew Longshore said in a statement Tuesday. Ndagije was hired in March 2021 and became a school resource officer in August 2022.

Court records do not detail the specific allegations that led to the criminal charges against Ndagije, and say only that he “knowingly committed… an unauthorized exercise of his official function and/or violated a statute or lawfully adopted rule or regulation relating to his office.”

But text messages provided by Matthew Haltzman, a Fort Collins attorney, show Ndagije exchanged inappropriate texts with Haltzman’s client, a then-16-year-old girl who met the officer when she was a student at Aurora Central High School.

The girl, who The Denver Post is not identifying because she is a minor, said she met Ndagije as a sophomore at the school, and grew close to him, spending free periods in his office. He sometimes bought lunch for her and her friend, and they viewed him as a “trusted adult,” the girl told The Post in an interview Tuesday. She is now 17.

When her family moved to Fort Collins, he gave her his personal cellphone number, and told her she could always call if she needed help.

Several months later, she did. The girl texted Ndagije for help in October when her teenage ex-boyfriend was harassing her, according to 29 pages of text messages reviewed by The Post.

A chain of text messages

Over the course of two days, Ndagije answered the girl’s questions about legal steps she could take to deal with the harassment, then moved the conversation into more personal territory, asking the girl about her sex life, about what she was doing at the moment, how well she slept and how she dealt with stress, according to the text chain.

Ndagije told the girl he was her “friend,” and warned her not to tell Fort Collins police or anyone that they were texting. He encouraged her to move their conversation to WhatsApp — which uses end-to-end encryption — and at one point told the girl she “looked great” and didn’t need to lose weight.

“You are a grown woman,” Ndagije texted on Oct. 1, followed by several face-palm emojis and thinking face emojis.

“Not yet,” the girl responded with a laughing-while-crying emoji. “I’m only grown when I start paying my own bills, is what my mom says.”

“Come onnn I be having alot of (expletive) in my head,” Ndagije responded, with more laughing-while-crying emojis. “She still (p)ays for all your bills and clothes?”

“Yeah duh I’m only 16,” the girl answered. “I’m the youngest so I’m spoiled.”

“She even buys you panties???” the officer texted with a thinking-face emoji, according to the messages reviewed by The Post.

“Mmm that’s not appropriate DJ,” the girl answered with a laughing-while-crying emoji.

The messages made the girl uncomfortable, she said Tuesday. “Like he was trying to take advantage of my vulnerability,” she said. “It just made me sick, I trusted that person, I was very close to him.”

An attorney for Ndagije, Don Sisson, declined to comment on the criminal allegations Tuesday.

A spokesman for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office could not provide additional detail on the criminal charges. Ndagije is due in court for an advisement on May 31.

Can no longer work as a police officer

The internal affairs investigation into Ndagije began when the girl alerted her parents to the texts, and they reported the exchanges to Aurora police. Then-chief Art Acevedo also requested the Colorado Bureau of Investigation conduct a criminal investigation into the officer, Longshore said.

The internal investigation revealed that Ndagije had taken a photo of the girl without her knowledge while she was visiting him in his office at Aurora Central High School. During one of those office visits, Ndagije also looked up the girl’s personal information, as well as that of her family, in a law enforcement database to show her how it worked, according to the investigation.

The internal affairs probe also found items in Ndagije’s bag that should have been submitted to the property and evidence unit, according to a summary of the investigation.

Ndagije can no longer work as a police officer in Colorado. He lost his Peace Officer Standards and Training certification on March 15 after the board found he was untruthful during the internal affairs investigation.

A spokesman for Aurora Public Schools, Corey Christiansen, did not answer questions from The Post about whether the school alerted parents and students to the allegations against Ndagije.

“We take all reports of misconduct seriously and want to emphasize that safety is our top priority,” he said in a brief statement.

Haltzman said that to his knowledge, the school never warned parents about the allegations. He suspects additional girls were targeted and thinks more victims may come forward.

“Looking at these text messages, this appears to be an individual who has engaged in these activities before,” he said.

See the original article here: https://www.denverpost.com/2024/05/21/egide-dj-ndagije-aurora-police-school-resource-officer-charged/