The Damien Memorial School band director who lost his job last week after he was arrested for investigation of sexually assaulting a girl says he is stunned by the charges.
Peter John Rucci, 61, said by phone Sunday that his arrest and charging were “a complete surprise.”
He said he knows the identity of the alleged victim, but referred further comments to his attorney, who did not return a call for a comment.
Rucci was charged Saturday with three counts of first-degree sexual assault and four counts of third-degree sexual assault involving a teenage girl in Kailua, police said. He was released after posting $150,000 bail.
Rucci became Damien’s band director in August but was fired last week after his arrest.
“Upon hearing the news, Damien has terminated Peter Rucci, effective immediately,” Damien President and CEO Wes Reber Porter said in a statement. “Based upon the dates of the allegations, the conduct occurred before his few months of employment with the school.”
A Damien spokesman said the alleged assaults did not involve any Damien students.
Police said the alleged sexual assaults occurred in June. Police did not release the teen’s exact age, citing her juvenile status.
Rucci was arrested at 9:20 p.m. Thursday on Halekoa Drive in the Waialae-Kahala area.
Before teaching at Damien, Rucci was band director at Le Jardin Academy in Kailua and Honolulu Waldorf School in East Honolulu.
Rucci, a Naval Academy graduate and retired fighter pilot, was a long-term substitute at Le Jardin during a search for a new band director, according to a January school newsletter. Rucci had been on campus at both the middle school and high school as a substitute, the newsletter said. He was also pictured with the band in a May school newsletter.
Rucci told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he began teaching at Honolulu Waldorf School in 2000 and was the school’s orchestra director until earlier this year, when he left on good terms for Damien. He said he transferred to Damien because the school offered him better employment opportunities and more hours.
The administration at Honolulu Waldorf School and Le Jardin Academy could not be reached for comment.
