Kona teacher suspended after being charged with child abuse

A 32-year-old Kona intermediate school teacher was suspended Tuesday in the wake of formal charges that he abused and tied his girlfriend’s 11-year-old son to a toilet.

Clifford Wade Fabacher was arrested Jan. 6 at Kealakehe Intermediate School where he taught physical education, and was charged later that day with unlawful imprisonment and misdemeanor abuse. 

The Department of Education suspended him from his teaching position on Tuesday. 

"It does signal a concern, but that doesn’t necessarily suggest the man is guilty and is subject to doing something else to other kids on campus," said Art Souza, Department of Education West Hawaii Complex Area superintendent. "That’s a bit of a leap."

Souza said before suspending Fabacher, the DOE waited until "the actual court proceedings and … formal charges on (Jan.) 13th." 

The suspension went into effect Tuesday, five days after his court appearance. 

Souza said there are "no contractual ramifications" because the incident was a domestic situation and there was no investigation into it by the department because it didn’t occur on campus.

However, the DOE is conducting an investigation into whether Fabacher is suitable to continue teaching because of the egregious charges, Souza said. 

Police received a report from the boy’s school that Fabacher had tied him to a toilet with flex ties, and the school reported it to police, Lt. Gilbert Gaspar said.

The boy’s mother was arrested at the home and charged with abuse of a family member and unlawful imprisonment and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. She is free on $2,500 bail.

The 11-year-old boy was treated at the scene for injuries and released, Gaspar said. The boy and a 13-year-old child were taken into protective custody, he said.

Gaspar declined to release the name of the mother, although she has been charged, to avoid traumatizing the children, he said.

Fabacher was brought in two to three months ago to replace a teacher who took an extended leave, and is relatively new to Kealakehe.

Souza said he was a teacher in good standing.