Former instructor sentenced in assault of teen

WENATCHEE – A former Wenatchee School District instructor must serve 216 hours of community service and is barred from re-entering school facilities after pleading guilty to assaulting an ex-student.

Brian Philip Abbey, 35, pleaded guilty Tuesday to fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation and furnishing liquor to a minor. Both are gross misdemeanors. He was arrested in November after a 16-year-old former student told Chelan County sheriff’s deputies that Abbey had provided her alcohol and had sex with her last August.

“I freely take responsibility for what happened,” Abbey told District Court Judge Roy Fore.

The misdemeanor plea puts to rest a felony case of sexual misconduct with a minor, which was pending in Superior Court. Deputy prosecutor Nicole Hankins said the lesser charges were settled on due to “credibility issues” in the case.

“It has been very thoughtfully considered by the parties, and I think it encompasses what happened here,” Hankins said of the plea agreement.

Abbey has no prior criminal convictions. In addition to his community service time, he must pay $700 in fines plus court costs, have no contact with the victim, and stay off Wenatchee School District property for the two years of his probation time. Fore also ordered him to have no unsupervised contact with minor children. The plea does not require him to register as a sex offender.

Abbey was dismissed from his post as a cinematography and video production instructor at the Wenatchee Valley Technical Skills Center after his arrest, said his attorney, Peter Camiel, of Seattle. He has since relocated to King County.