KEARNEY, Mo. — Clay County prosecutors charged a Kearney coach with sexual misconduct, months after he was placed on paid leave by the school district.
Bryant Hummel teaches math at Kearney High School and is also a football and wrestling coach.
According to court documents, Hummel is accused of exposing himself to two female students in 2020. Court documents show the students were 17 years old at the time.
One of the students told investigators that Hummel was helping her and the other victim with homework after school. She said Hummel walked up to them and exposed himself. The teenager said he exposed himself a second time several minutes later. She also told a detective that after they left the school, Hummel Face Timed them from home where he exposed himself a third time. She said Hummel asked the two victims to expose themselves as well.
The second victim told detectives the same thing, according to court documents. She also told officers that Hummel threatened to fail them if the teenagers told anyone about what happened.
“It is beyond frustrating we’d just like some transparency, we’d like some honesty and we’re not getting that,” Julie Bell said outside a Kearney School Board meeting Wednesday night.
Mark and Kristina Baxter’s daughter wrestles against the Kearney girls’ team Hummel coached.
“It’s very upsetting I put a lot of trust and faith in those coaches as does my daughter,” Mark Baxter said.
“Unfortunately things happen with people that we trust the most and we have to be brave enough to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else and these girls stopped this hopefully so kudos to them,” Kristina Baxter said.
The district says it’s aware of the charges filed, and that the employee has been kept off district property.
“The safety of students is always our top priority. KSD takes all student concerns and allegations seriously, investigates them pursuant to district policies, and fully cooperates with state agencies and law enforcement,” the Kearney School District said in a statement.
Kearney School District said it was made aware of the allegation in April. At that time the school district said state agencies and law enforcement was investigating the situation. The district said that it cannot provide further details about the case because of federal and state laws.
Hummel is expected to be back in court on October 25.
Editor’s note: The victims were wrongly identified as 19-years-old in a previous version of this story. They were 17 years old at the time of the alleged crime, according to court documents.
