Minnesota Catholic school teacher accused of smoking marijuana with students

NEW ULM, Minn. (FOX 9) – A former teacher at Cathedral High School in New Ulm faces criminal charges for allegedly smoking marijuana with multiple students. 

Brady Paul Waibel, 32, was charged in Brown County court with fifth-degree felony possession of marijuana and three gross misdemeanors of contributing to the delinquency of a child.

According to the charging documents, a priest with the New Ulm Diocese called the police on Jan. 14 after an administrator with the school said students had been smoking with their teacher. One student was an adult, and three others were minors.

A student told investigators that one day in November, he and two other students went to pick up Waibel and parked under a bridge. They walked to a nearby sandbar, and Waibel allegedly took out a blunt and passed it to each student, according to court documents. 

After that, the student said they went to Waibel’s house several times between November and January to hang out and smoke. One of the students told police Waibel “always provided the marijuana free of charge,” the complaint reads. 

Police also interviewed a fourth student who said they had smoked at Waibel’s house. The complaint states the adult student picked up the juvenile after school and drove to the teacher’s house, where the juvenile smoked marijuana from a bong. 

The juvenile student also told police there were three other students in the living room watching a movie when they arrived, according to the complaint.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the teacher’s home and recovered marijuana, a marijuana grinder, a multicolored bong, and marijuana wax. The teacher was arrested later that night outside his home and requested a lawyer, according to the complaint. 

He was taken to Brown County Jail, where he was released after posting a $10,000 bail. Waibel is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Feb. 14, according to court documents.

New Ulm Area Catholic Schools released a statement on Jan. 15 that Waibel was no longer employed at the school but did not provide further details. 

FOX 9 reached out to Waibel’s lawyer for comment.