After sending sex videos to students, former Kansas City area teacher pleads guilty

A former Oak Grove High School teacher pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to spend at least 120 days in the Missouri Department of Corrections after several girls reported they received sexually explicit photographs and videos from him.

Ethan C. Grumke, 28, was charged last summer in Jackson County Circuit Court with one low-level felony and four misdemeanors. He was accused of sending pornographic videos of himself to students and trying to have sex with a minor. The charges alleged stalking, attempting to make sexual contact with a student and furnishing pornographic material to children.

Under the terms of his sentence, Grumke will report to Missouri prison for four months and be evaluated through a program for substance abuse. He has the opportunity to be released from prison and be placed on five years of probation if he receives a positive evaluation in prison. If not, Grumke will spend four years in prison.

“Mr. Grumke not only surrendered his teaching license, but also took responsibility in open court. I’ve never represented a man more serious about changing his life for the better and although I wish I had met him under different circumstances, I’m tremendously proud of how far he has come,” Grumke’s defense attorney Greg Watt said in an email to The Star. “In closing, Mr. Grumke and I sincerely apologize to those affected by his actions and we wish nothing but great things for their future.”

According to court records, Oak Grove police, in eastern Jackson County, were first contacted by the Missouri Children’s Division — an arm of the state’s social services agency that reviews alleged misconduct in schools — about videos sent to students in late May 2021.

School officials told police they had investigated an anonymous report, alleging that Grumke sent pornographic videos to female students. Grumke later admitted to them that he had sent a video showing him and his wife having sex but denied any other misconduct, according to court records.

Students told police they had received sexually explicit videos from Grumke over Instagram and Snapchat beginning in at least December 2020.

One video showed him masturbating and included a sexually suggestive text message, according to court records. Over texts, Grumke added one of the students to a private Instagram channel with material “for her eyes only” that would include fitness pictures, modeling or “explicit or adult content.”

Another witness told officers she thought nothing of it when she and Grumke first connected over Instagram because she considered him a mentor. She tried to back away from him after becoming uncomfortable with his conduct on social media and after receiving unwanted sexual content, she told police.

Another girl accused Grumke of pressuring her to have sex and to send nude photographs. She told police she was worried she might get in trouble if she reported anything.

The Star generally does not identify victims of sexual assault without their permission.

After working for the Oak Grove school district, Grumke accepted a teaching position with Bayfield High School in southwestern Colorado. Grumke was going to teach math and serve as head coach of the school’s football team but had already resigned as of summer 2021, Kevin Aten, Bayfield school district superintendent, previously said.

Grumke was arrested in Colorado in August 2021.

This school year, several Kansas City area teachers are facing charges for sexual misconduct.

Last month, De Soto teacher Keil Hileman, 53, was charged with six counts of felony sexual abuse as authorities allege he violated at least two students while employed at Monticello Trails Middle School. He had been an educator for three decades and was once named Kansas Teacher of the Year.

Former Shawnee Mission North High School math teacher and swim coach Alexander Morris, 32, was arrested this fall and charged with five felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

A teacher at Center High School accused of inappropriate communication with a student was placed on leave earlier this fall.

Fired Olathe Northwest High School teacher and coach Steven Mesa is facing three felony charges and is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old student.

And Jason Carey, a substitute teacher in Belton, allegedly sent nude photos of himself to eighth graders and is accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in early August.