Former teacher gets 30 days in jail, probation for 2014 incident with student

A 40-year-old former high school teacher was sentenced Thursday to 30 days in jail and four years’ probation for an incident eight years ago involving a female student in his classroom.

In accordance with a plea agreement, 2nd Circuit Court Judge Adrianne Heely handed down the sentence for Casey Brummel of Lahaina, who was an English teacher at Baldwin High School in 2014. The victim in the case was a 15-yearold student.

Brummel, who was fired from his teaching position, pleaded guilty to one charge of first-degree unlawful imprisonment. The charge was amended in a plea agreement in March, according to court documents. Brummel was initially indicted on four counts of third-degree sexual assault in 2017 for alleged sexual contact.

The student was in a classroom doing a makeup test alone, said Heely, reading details of the incident from a police report which alleged that he inappropriately touched the student and exposed himself to her.

“Mr. Brummel, you used your power and authority to appease your own sexual desires in this place where students are supposedly feel safe,” Heely said. “It’s unforgiving, unforgettable, you can see she still remembers what you were wearing, what your breath smelled like. It is unforgettable and perhaps unforgivable.”

Heely noted the more than 36 letters of support Brummel received, which said he was a “loving, committed father.” She also singled out a letter that said Brummel protected a friend who was being maced and that he twice performed CPR on a young child at a beach.

“A lot of these character letters, I’m not sure how much details that they know, or what they knew about (the victim). You can see that she is still affected by what has happened,” Heely said.

In tears at times, the victim said in court that “I still remember everything.”

Looking back, she said she thought she was the one who did something wrong.

“I was just so embarrassed,” she said, explaining that she was easily manipulated as a 15-year-old.

But the victim said she needed to speak up knowing she had a younger sister who was also going to attend Baldwin.

“I had to say something for all the girls,” she said. “If I hadn’t said something, it still would be going on right now.”

In a previous court hearing, a deputy prosecutor said that other students also alleged Brummel contacted them and made inappropriate comments.

The victim said now that she is a wife and a mother, she fears for her children and worries they will be subject to similar treatment. She is so fearful that she stays home to watch her youngest child because she does not trust others to babysit.

“I have nothing to gain from this,” the victim said as she spoke in court.

The victim’s father said that the memories still haunt his daughter, who sometimes sees cars parked outside her home and thinks it’s Brummel.

“When you are a teacher, it’s not something that you do,” her father said. “It’s just affected her so much.”

Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp said while there is support for Brummel’s character, “there was this underlying ‘but.’ ”

“There were signs. There were things going on,” Hupp said, noting Brummel was warned about having girls in his classroom.

Hupp said “he’s admitted what he did.”

During sentencing, Brummel apologized to the victim and her father, whom Brummel also knew.

Brummel said he and his family endured scrutiny from the media and on social media and said the victim and her family have probably endured the same.

But he noted that he denies the original charges and had been ready to challenge it in court.

However, he said he acknowledges his shortcomings as well.

“The way I communicated was unprofessional, and my boundaries were not clear and present,” he said. “That put me in this situation. And I acknowledge the shortcomings and even before I was arrested I had begun working on those to improve myself.”

Brummel, who coaches in a gym, said he works out around 6 a.m. to avoid others. Parents who know him feel comfortable with him as a coach even knowing his “legal situation,” Brummel said.

“Hearing that from my friends and family and people that know me, means a lot,” he said.

He said no matter his sentencing, he will continue to improve himself and that a similar situation will not happen again, as he has been going to counseling and treatment and is continuing with Bible study.

Defense Attorney Wendy Hudson said Brummel voluntarily has begun his sex offender treatment program and tests show his chance of recidivism is very low.

“He already gets it,” Hudson said.

She added that Brummel has already learned from the programs and that jail time would cause excessive hardship on his family.

Heely ordered that Brummel complete a sex offender treatment program and that he have no contact with the victim and her family. She allowed Brummel to turn himself in to the Maui Community Correctional Center on Aug. 1 as requested by the defense to allow him to take care of family matters.