BOULDER — A Casey Middle School counselor arrested on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute pleaded not guilty yesterday in Boulder County Court.

Michael Barta, 46, has been a counselor at the Boulder school since 2000. Arrested in June, he remains on paid administrative leave while the court case is pending, Boulder Valley School District spokesman Briggs Gamblin said.

Police began investigating Barta in May after getting a tip from a woman calling herself a "professional escort," who also is the parent of a student at Casey.

She told police she became concerned that the man who was paying her for sex was an Internet predator after he said his "deepest, darkest secret would be to have sex with a 12-year-old girl," according to an arrest report.