Teacher arrested on suspicion of offering student money to have sex

A 73-year-old substitute teacher was arrested Thursday on suspicion of offering a Wasson High School student money to have sex with him.

Lloyd Clark of Colorado Springs said that his arrest on suspicion of solicitation of child prostitution is the result of a misunderstanding, the Associated Press reported.

Reached at his home Friday, Clark declined to address the allegations and said he regretted making the earlier comments to a reporter without an attorney.

“I shouldn’t even have said that,” he said.

Clark said he has been a substitute at schools in Colorado Springs School District 11 for 11 years, after working as a full-time teacher for 40 years “all over,” including Kansas, Montana and Arizona.

According to police, a student reported the offer for sex to a Colorado Springs police school resource officer. Investigators did not release the age or gender of the student.

Clark, who was arrested at his home, was released from the county jail Friday morning on a $10,000 bond.

He is to appear in court Wednesday.

School administrators were planning to send a letter home with students from Wasson High explaining the allegations. Police were looking into whether other students had problems with Clark, and counselors would be made available to the accuser.

“We spend a lot of energy in ensuring that the needs of the victims and their families are being met,” said Sgt. Howard Black, who oversees the 16 officers in the city’s high schools.

Black would not answer questions directly relating to the case, saying the investigation was in its early stages.

Clark will not be allowed to return as a substitute while the accusation is being investigated, said Elaine Naleski, a spokeswoman for School District 11.

Administrators conduct criminal background checks on all employees, including substitute teachers, she said. Naleski referred other questions to the police.