Trial date set for Aurora man on child abuse charges | 1340 KGFW

AURORA – A trial date has been set for an Aurora man charged with child abuse after five children were found alive in a tent without food or water and one was found wandering near a highway after dark.

Nathan Collingham, 45, was charged with five counts of intentional child abuse without personal injury, both of which are Class 3A felonies.

Collingham pleaded not guilty to the charges and posted $450 bail on July 30.

The hearing date was set for October 16 at 9 a.m. and the trial date was set for January 21, 2025 at 9 a.m.

According to court documents, on Saturday, June 15, Officer Peyton Ott of the Aurora Police Department was notified of a report of child abuse that occurred at 10:40 p.m. at Lot 8 Green Meadows Estate.

The report stated that a woman had struck a juvenile in the residence. The reporter also stated that five minor children were sleeping outside in a tent in front of the mobile home on Lot 8.

When Officer Ott arrived at the scene, he noticed five children, some of whom were only wearing t-shirts and shorts. They also appeared to be covered in insect bites and had various scratches and bruises on their bodies.

When asked about the marks on the children’s bodies, Beck explained that the children had “beaten each other up.”

Officer Ott spoke with the owner of the home, Collingham, who stated that the children were allowed to sleep in the RV, but also in the tent, which appeared to be only a two or three person tent.

When resident Carrie Beck was questioned about the allegations of physical abuse, she denied them, according to Officer Ott.

At the scene, the children made several statements to Officer Ott. For example, they said that he had come to pick them up. They said they wanted to go to other apartments. They said that they were sleeping in the tent. They said that they did not have much to eat or drink and that they were hungry.

A child approached Officer Ott and said Beck forced her to put on a shirt “so she wouldn't have to go to jail,” court documents state.

According to Officer Ott, there was no food or water for the children in the area and the tent was soaked. The teens' clothes were in tote bags in the driveway.

Collingham agreed to show Officer Ott the inside of the RV. He found it cramped and crammed with trash and personal items. He said there was not enough room for five children to sleep comfortably.

There were also two medium-sized dogs in the motorhome at the time.

Later, at 12:37 a.m., Hamilton County Emergency Management received two separate calls reporting a small child wrapped in a blanket running down the middle of Highway 34.

Officer Ott found the seven-year-old child on the north side of Highway 34 near 20th Street and recognized him as one of the children from Parking Lot 8.

The child was wrapped in a blanket and was shoeless. He said Collingham and Beck had locked him out of the RV.

Officer Ott returned to Parking Lot 8 and questioned Collingham, who stated that he knew the child had left and had no intention of going out and looking for them. He had done so in the past and eventually returned.

Due to the living conditions and the danger to the child wandering on the highway in the dark, both Collingham and Beck were arrested for child abuse.