House arrest and probation are among the sentencing terms for a former teacher at a charter high school in St. Paul who sexually assaulted a student numerous times after he was fired for paying too much attention to her.

Brandon M. Bunney, 43, of Savage, was sentenced Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court after pleading guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for the sexual encounters with the 16-year-old Hmong College Prep Academy (HCPA) student starting in 2023.

Judge Richard Kyle sentenced Bunney to a month in jail that he can serve on electronic home monitoring and with work release, if eligible, and three years' supervised probation.

Other terms include requirements that he register with the state as a predatory offender and not hold any position of authority over juveniles or vulnerable adults.

According to the criminal complaint:

Rumors of an out-of-bounds relationship began to circulate around the school in the spring of 2023, prompting school officials to tell Bunney repeatedly to stop texting with the girl. The school then fired him in May of that year.

Following his firing, Bunney began spending more time with the girl and sending sexually suggestive texts to her.

The girl told police they had sexual encounters in his car over the summer and also at his home.

Bunney lived in Apple Valley at the time. Some of the encounters also occurred in St. Paul in the 1400 block of E. 6th Street.

During an interview with police in February 2024, Bunney admitted "being intimate" with the girl over the summer but soon declined to offer further details.