Cassandra Poncelow sentenced to 16 years after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child

Cassandra Poncelow was sentenced Oct. 26 to 16 years in the Department of Corrections. She will then serve 10 years of sex offender intensive supervised probation.

The Larimer County District Attorney's Office secured her guilty plea to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, a class three felony. The prosecution team, led by Deputy District Attorney Callan Riedel, asked the court to impose the maximum allowed in the resolution, 16 years. The victims and their families also asked for that sentence.

"The strength of these victims directly led to the accountability we saw today and ensures Cassandra Poncelow cannot continue to harm our community," District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin said. He said he was proud of his team and law enforcement for securing what he called a significant sentence, and he called the victims incredibly brave for coming forward.

Fort Collins Police Services received a report about Poncelow from the Department of Human Services in 2023. In 2025, the victim contacted law enforcement ready to share the full extent of the abuse, the District Attorney's Office said. Sharing such details can be extremely traumatizing for many survivors and can take years to come to terms with, the office said.

The victim described several years of grooming, sexual assault and physical abuse by Poncelow, the office said. That led to Poncelow's arrest in August of 2025.

Fort Collins Police Services then issued a press release, the District Attorney's Office said. Police were concerned that Poncelow's tenure in the Poudre School District could mean there were additional victims.

Shortly after the press release, another victim came forward, the office said. That victim described multiple incidents of abuse by Poncelow while a minor. Detectives interviewed others who were involved at the time, and they recounted that Poncelow developed a pattern of close relationships with students over whom she had authority, the office said.

The office said it worked closely with both victims while preparing for a potential trial. It ultimately agreed to a resolution to the Department of Corrections that it said would hold Poncelow accountable and allow the victims to begin healing from her actions.

People affected by child sexual abuse can find support through these groups:

• ChildSafe, 970-472-4133, childsafecolorado.org
• Crawford Child Advocacy Center, (970) 407-9739, crawfordcac.org
• Enough Abuse Campaign, survivor support at enoughabuse.org