Teacher guilty of sex crime with former student sentenced to house arrest

Teacher sentenced in sex crime

Former St. Paul charter school teacher Brandon Bunney was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest and three years of probation after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct with his former 16-year-old student.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A former St. Paul charter school teacher was sentenced to 30 days house arrest and three years of probation after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct with his former 16-year-old student. 

Timeline:

Brandon Bunney was a math teacher at Hmong College Preparatory Academy when police say rumors first surfaced about a relationship with a student. 

"I realize that I hurt a lot of people," Bunney told the judge during his sentencing hearing Wednesday. "I never set out to break any laws."

Bunney was originally charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct after prosecutors said he had an "ongoing" sexual relationship with a student which began in July 2023. 

What we know:

Bunney recently filed a petition to plead guilty to a downgraded charge, admitting only that he "touched the breast" of the 16-year-old student and that it "occurred within 120 days of employment" at the school. 

However, personnel records obtained by the FOX 9 Investigators reveal the school warned Bunney about his behavior while he was a teacher, documenting "inappropriate interactions and relationship with a student."  

The backstory:

Bunney’s case exposed a flaw in the state’s mandatory reporting requirements involving teacher misconduct. 

While Bunney was forced out of Hmong College Prep, he was not technically fired.

The FOX 9 Investigators found  the school "rescinded" his contract instead. The school also did not report Bunney to the state’s teaching board (Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board also known as PELSB).

"The board strongly believes that it is a district’s duty to report incidents like this," said PELSB’s executive director Yelena Bailey in an interview last year, adding that there is room for clarity in the law.

 "We believe that it is both a moral obligation and the right thing to do," she said. 

What's next:

 Bunney has been ordered to have no contact with the victim and will be required to register as a sex offender.