Ex-teacher of Hmong College Prep Academy in St. Paul sentenced for criminal sexual conduct with student

A former professor of a charter school in St Paul was sentenced to one month of house arrest and three years of probation Wednesday for having criminal sexual contact with his -year-old trainee in after he was fired for continuing to contact the girl Brandon Michael Bunney who had taught at Hmong College Prep Academy pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court in March to felony fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct after reaching an agreement that included a stayed prison sentence to probation and no more than two months in the workhouse Brandon Michael Bunney Courtesy of the Scott County Sheriff's Office Bunney of Savage was initially charged in February with third-degree criminal sexual conduct for incidents between July and mid-September that year while being in a position of authority over her Bunney s attorney Marsh Halberg reported Wednesday the charge stemmed from a consensual relationship with the -year-old within days of his May firing from the school In general the legal age of consent in Minnesota is however the statute for third-degree criminal sexual conduct includes a -day rule that prohibits anyone who was in a position of authority over someone from having sexual contact with them during the time frame Had they waited a limited more weeks to enter into their relationship no offense would have been committed Halberg wrote in a sentencing memo Rumors of an inappropriate relationship between Bunney and the girl began to surface at Hmong College Prep in spring the criminal complaint stated School administration informed him several times to stop contacting the girl and he was fired from his teaching job for failing to do so After his firing Bunney began spending more time with the girl Numerous messages between them began six days after he was fired By July Bunney was sending the girl messages describing sexual acts he wished to engage in with her the complaint explained She described police it started with sexual touching in his car on St Paul s East Side and progressed to sexual penetration at an Apple Valley house where he lived at the time the complaint stated In an interview with police Bunney mentioned he was fired from the high school because of a perception that I hung out with a trainee the complaint commented He announced that a bunch of people had concerns and he was communicated to kinda ghost the girl but he didn t Three months after his firing from Hmong College Prep Bunney joined Nicollet Middle School in Burnsville He taught math at the school until Feb when he was arrested and personnel at Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District say they learned of the statements from police Bunney s wife of years filed for divorce in April according to court records These are two consenting people Halberg narrated the court Wednesday that it was around September when Bunney understood the law that he kind of did a in the sense of acknowledgement And before that it was like why is it anybody s business These are two consenting people age of consent Related Articles A US judge halts the deportation of the Egyptian family of the Boulder firebombing suspect A woman testifies Sean Diddy Combs gave her night terrors by dangling her from a high-rise balcony Felt as though they were going to kill me Mahtomedi man beaten and robbed of casino winnings says in court St Paul street lights stripped of copper wiring though reports are down overall St Paul man sentenced to workhouse for throwing fatal sucker punch outside East Side bar Halberg explained Bunney has been cooperative and remorseful and that a psychosexual exam concluded he has less than a chance of reoffending Halberg requested Judge Richard Kyle to give Bunney no jail time or in the alternative that he serve any time sentenced on electronic home monitoring with work release privileges Kyle imposed the latter adding but I m going to reduce the amount that s been requested I think a little bit is appropriate given what happened here Bunney s sentence is a stay of imposition which means the felony conviction will be considered a misdemeanor if he successfully completes probation His conditions of probation include registering as a predatory offender no contact with the victim and no position of authority paid or volunteer over minors