Fourteenth Judicial District Attorney Matt Karzen has made the decision to not pursue prosecution against a former Steamboat Springs Young Tracks daycare teacher for child abuse due to “insufficient” evidence, according to a declination of prosecution letter from the district attorney’s office.

Alma Montes, 26, was arrested Feb. 7 and charged with one count of child abuse for allegedly grabbing children by the arms and legs and scratching them, according to an arrest affidavit.

The letter comes after Karzen selected Montes to enter the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office Adult Diversion Program.

If Montes’s application is accepted and if she completes the program in full compliance, the charge of child abuse will be dropped and the case will be dismissed, said Montes’s attorney, Stacy Marczak-Grande.

The declination of prosecution letter from Karzen states that there is “insufficient reliable and admissible evidence available to support a criminal prosecution.”

The letter details the investigation into seven different children who attended Young Tracks and allegedly experienced abuse in Montes’s classroom.

“A declination of criminal charges is not a determination that no crime occurred, nor is it a determination that no incidents supporting civil or administrative remedies occurred,” states the letter from Karzen.

The letter further states that concerned parents reported their children’s injuries to police “after media reports.”

Each report made to police regarding the seven children’s experiences was deemed “insufficient” evidence, according to the letter.

“The burden of proof for criminal prosecution is beyond a reasonable doubt, and that burden must be satisfied at a jury trial, where the full rules of evidence apply,” Karzen stated in a Tuesday email. “Administrative proceedings, such as licensing hearings or (Department of Human Services) matters, involve a much lower burden of proof and often different and more relaxed rules of evidence, and often no jury trial is required.  Comparing the criminal side and the administrative side is comparing apples to sand — they are entirely different proceedings.”

Regarding previous reporting on the Young Tracks shutdown, which references a police affidavit and the Department of Early Childhood’s license suspension order, Karzen stated that the allegations impacted the evidence.

“Pretrial media reporting on a pending case can, and it appears here it did, create a situation where potential witnesses are exposed to preliminary or partial factual allegations from other sources. That can happen in a way that either actually taints their perception of what they experienced, or opens the door to that possibility, which makes them vulnerable to reliability challenges in court,” stated Karzen.

“It’s really just a price that we pay as a society for the media’s ability to publish a lot of factual allegations before an investigation is complete or before a witness testifies,” Karzen continued. “That choice to publish is perfectly lawful, and it is not something that warrants ‘blame’, but it can and sometimes does impact the strength or integrity of a case.”

For parents concerned about the decision not to pursue prosecution, Karzen told the newspaper that they will have the opportunity to discuss questions during an upcoming meeting.

“A meeting is being planned, date and location to be determined, for those folks to attend, if they choose, to discuss the matter from the criminal side of things, and to answer any questions they may have,” said Karzen in an email. “The parents of the children who were named in (the case) were consulted in meetings prior to last Friday’s court hearing.”

To read the full declination of prosecution letter, see the attachment below.