An assistant physics professor at UCD was arrested March 31 at his home in Gunbarrel, Colo. for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy over the course of two years, according to a news release issued by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department.
   Mark Baertschy, 35, was released from Boulder County Jail on $25,000 bond and was charged with one count of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust. The charge is a class three felony, and, if convicted, Baertschy could face four to 12 years in prison, according to the news release.
   Police are releasing few details about the case and most information is remaining confidential. Their purpose is to protect the identity of the victim and not to damage the investigation. Police did, however, state that Baertschy had allegedly engaged in “a pattern of progressively more intrusive consensual sexual contacts” with the victim over the past two years.
   The Metropolitan was unable to contact Baertschy for comment.
   The UCD Physics Department and UCD Media Relations also declined to give a statement regarding Baertschy.
   Baertschy’s father also named Mark Baertschy, declined comment on his son’s current situation. He did say Baertschy would appear in court on April 20.
   Baertschy, who has taught at the UCD Health Sciences Center since 2002, was also a volunteer mentor with Boulder County Partners and the Broadway Shelter, which is affiliated with Attention Homes. Both are nonprofit organizations that provide shelter and support services for troubled youths and match them with adult mentors to help toward their positive development.
   Rick Samson, president of the Boulder County Partners board, said the alleged victim was matched up with Baertschy through the Longmont-based organization, The Denver Post reported. The Rocky Mountain News reported that Baertschy met the victim through the program four years ago.
   Jim Rianoshek, executive director of Attention Homes, told the Post the alleged victim was never a resident of the Broadway Shelter. Rianoshek stated there were no reports of inappropriate behavior by Baertschy during his volunteer time with the organization.    According to officials with Attention Homes, Baertschy’s contact with youth in its program was minimal over the past two and a half years, the News reported.
   The Sheriff’s office noted that both of the nonprofit organizations are cooperating with the investigation.
   Baertschy, as a mentor for Attention homes, exposed the youths to the art of cooking, as well as taking them to bowl, hike and exposing them to music through instruments such as keyboards and guitars, according to his volunteer profile on the Volunteer Connection Web site.
   “ Since most are teenagers; this is often the last opportunity to reach out to them before they are lost to crime or drugs as an adult,” Baertschy said in his profile. “Even if you aren’t able to change them, you can show them that something else exists—giving them a positive experience that will hopefully take root in the future and change their lives.”
   Baertschy also acted as a volunteer contractor for Attention Homes, in addition to spending time with the kids. According to his profile, he stepped in and volunteered his services to make repairs to the 80-year-old facility Attention Homes occupied, allowing it to continue operations. The profile also said Baertschy spent five months, on nights and weekends, renovating and remodeling everything from the bathrooms, walls and floors in the house.
   Since his arrest, Baertschy has been placed on paid leave by UCD. He was teaching two courses this semester. He was also subsequently terminated from Boulder County Partners. According to the Post, Baertschy’s volunteer service at Attention Homes has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
   However, one of Baertschy’s students called into question his tutoring abilities.
   “ When I was tutoring with him, he would question my intelligence constantly and I was actually planning to drop the class as well, before he was arrested and we got a new professor,” said Erica Hooker, a physics major at UCD, who was a student in one of Baertschy’s classes and spent four weeks tutoring with him.
   Hooker said Baertschy seemed apathetic toward his work and she felt he didn’t teach anything relevant to the class, but she was shocked upon hearing why he was arrested.
   “ He was a terrible teacher,” Hooker said.    “Baertschy just seemed like he didn’t care about anything, but I was shocked when I heard what he had been arrested for.”
   According to the news release the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department believes Baertschy may have had contact with other children in the program. A mug shot of Baertschy was attached to the news release in the hopes that other potential victims would recognize him and come forward in the investigation.
   Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact Detective Carolyn Roberts at 303-441-3641.

Metropolitan reporter Jimmie Braley contribluted to this report.