A former Aurora Police Department officer who pleaded guilty to misconduct for exchanging inappropriate messages with a high school student is now facing a civil lawsuit in the case.
Egide “DJ” Ndagije, 27, resigned from the department in lieu of termination in 2023 after an internal investigation found he took photos of and sent inappropriate texts to a then-16-year-old girl he met while working as a school resource officer at Aurora Central High School.
Ndagije was charged with three counts of official misconduct, all misdemeanors, in Arapahoe County District Court and pleaded guilty to one count in January as part of a plea agreement. He was sentenced to probation, court records show.
Ndagije was also stripped of his state police certification during the investigation and can no longer work as a police officer in Colorado.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, names Ndagije and the Aurora Police Department and accuses the former officer of grooming and sexually exploiting the girl.
Attorneys for the teen also say the Aurora Police Department violated Colorado peace officer standards by making Ndagije a school resource officer without the required three years of patrol experience and “failed to properly vet, train and supervise Officer Ndagije.”
Ndagije and his attorney could not be reached for comment. Aurora Police Department spokesperson Joe Moylan said the city has not been served with the lawsuit and does not typically comment on pending litigation.
The complaint details a series of text exchanges between Ndagije and the teen, who he gave his personal phone number after she moved to Fort Collins.
The girl texted Ndagije for advice because her ex-boyfriend was harassing her, and he told her legal steps she could take before he started asking her about her sex life, according to the lawsuit.
Ndagije later told her not to tell police or her friends about their communication and urged her to delete their messages so her mother wouldn’t find them.
The girl became increasingly uncomfortable with the messages and eventually showed them to her mom, who reported them to Aurora police.
An Aurora Police Department internal investigation later found Ndagije took photos of her “backside” without her knowledge or consent and shared it with others, according to the lawsuit.
Attorneys for the student say Ndagije deprived her of rights guaranteed under Colorado law and committed sexual misconduct and negligence. The Aurora Police Department is also named in the claim of sexual misconduct against minors.
“Former Officer Ndagije and the Aurora Police Department must be held accountable for their shameful conduct and the tremendous psychological harm they caused to the victim, a teenager and a high school student, who was supposed to be protected – not victimized and preyed upon by the very people sworn to protect her,” the teen’s attorney, Matthew A. Haltzman, said in a statement to The Denver Post.
The case is set for a review hearing in September.
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