Brady P. Waibel, 32, a now-former Catholic school teacher, is accused of allegedly smoking weed with several students, three of them juveniles.
Waibel, who formerly taught music at Cathedral High School in New Ulm, Minnesota, was charged on Jan. 19 in Brown County court with fifth-degree felony possession of cannabis and three gross misdemeanors of contributing to the delinquency of a child.
The school responded promptly to the incident with a statement: New Ulm Area Catholic Schools President Sister Julie Brand said on Jan. 19 Waibel is no longer employed at the school. The Journal reports that a Zoom hearing on the matter is set for 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 14.
Fox 9 reports that according to court documents, a student and two others picked up Waibel and parked under a bridge. There, they walked to a nearby sandbar, and Waibel allegedly whipped out a blunt and passed it to the students. All three students at that incident said they smoked cannabis.
A priest associated with the New Ulm Diocese dropped the dime and called police on Jan. 14 after a school administrator alerted him that students had been smoking with their teacher. The supervising priest called New Ulm Police Investigator Jeff Hohensee, The Free Press identified. One student was an adult, and three others were minors.
Hohensee then set up interviews with parents of the students and questioned them at the New Ulm Police Department.
Police interviewed several students including an additional student who admitted that they had smoked at Waibel’s house on another occasion. He admitted that the adult student picked up a juvenile student after school and drove to the teacher’s house, where they smoked weed out of a bong. A student said they hit the bong with Waibel between 10 and 20 times.
One of the students told police that Waibel “always provided the marijuana free of charge,” the complaint reads.
It’s a high school fantasy to be “Smokin’ in the Boys Room,” but a nightmare for the parents and teacher accused of contributing to minors.
Police executed a search warrant, and a Brown Lyon Redwood Renville Drug Task Force agent photographed and collected evidence. Police recovered items including flower, wax, a grinder and a multi-colored bong.
The estimated weight of the wax is 3/4 of a gram.
Waibel was taken to Brown County Jail in New Ulm, Minnesota where he was subsequently released after posting a $10,000 bail.
Contributing to a Minor in Minnesota
So what exactly is Waibel looking at in terms of punishment?
The penalty for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, under Minnesota law, is a gross misdemeanor and the maximum penalty is a year in prison and a $3,000 fine.
Under Minnesota Statute § 152.027 possession of under 42.5 grams of cannabis is a misdemeanor charge punishable by a $200 fine and no jail time. Over that amount, but under 10 kilograms, could mean a felony charge carrying a fine of $10,000 and five years in prison.
New Ulm Area Catholic Schools did not immediately respond for comment.
In October 2021, a South Carolina elementary school teacher faced criminal charges and lost her job after a pupil in her class pulled a package of cannabis edibles from a box of treats intended as prizes to reward students.
In 2020, the board of Marion County Public Schools in Florida suspended a Belleview High School teacher and student services manager over his use of medical cannabis.
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