Former college golf coach in Colorado found guilty of inappropriately touching student

A former women's golf coach at several Colorado universities was found guilty by a Weld County jury of inappropriately touching a college student in connection with a private golf lesson after he resigned from the school.

Benjamin Portie, 47, was convicted late last month on one count of unlawful sexual contact. The incident happened on Nov. 24, 2023, during a private golf lesson, prosecutors say.

Portie became the head coach of the University of Northern Colorado's women's golf team during the 2017-2018 school year, but resigned in 2021. The victim in the case was a student at the University of Colorado at the time of the incident, but Portie no longer worked at UNC by then.

During the lesson, Portie pressed up against the victim and touched her inappropriately multiple times, she told investigators.

"I meant what I said in my closing argument," Weld County Deputy District Attorney Erin Burhoe said in a statement on Tuesday. "This was a chance to say, enough is enough and we don't tolerate that type of behavior in Weld County. We'll continue holding people accountable for unlawful sexual contact."

Websites for the University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, and Metropolitan State University of Denver all show he worked as a golf coach at those schools, too.

Portie was never taken into custody, prosecutors say; court records show he was given a court summons in January 2024. He pleaded not guilty. His attorney, when reached by phone on Tuesday, declined to comment on the case.

Portie is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12 and is expected to return to court that day for the hearing.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story misstated which school the victim was enrolled in, due to incorrect information provided by prosecutors. It has since been updated.