Former band director indicted in sex assault
The sexual assault charges against fired Damien Memorial School band director Peter Rucci stem from a three-month relationship the 62-year-old Rucci had with a 15-year-old girl, Deputy Prosecutor Ayla Weiss told a state judge Wednesday.
Weiss made those comments after an Oahu grand jury returned an indictment charging Rucci with four counts of first-degree sexual assault and five counts of third-degree sexual assault. The mandatory penalty for first-degree sexual assault is a 20-year prison term.
Acting Circuit Judge William Domingo confirmed Rucci’s bail at $150,000. Rucci posted the bail Saturday, after Honolulu police charged him.
According to the indictment, Rucci committed eight of the charges on June 4 this year. The ninth charge alleges that Rucci had sexual contact with the girl between March 1 and June 4.
Police said the charges involve a teenage girl in Kailua. A Damien spokesman said the alleged sexual assaults happened before Rucci was hired as the school’s band director and do not involve a Damien student.
Damien hired Rucci as its band director in August. The school fired him last week after his arrest.
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Rucci was also the band director at Le Jardin Academy in Kailua this year, working on the middle school and high school campuses, according to a school newsletter. Rucci said he is a Navy retiree and had also worked at Waldorf School as its orchestra director but left that position for Damien for better employment opportunities and more hours.