Ex-teacher sentenced to 180 years in prison for sex with students

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) - A former teacher in Arizona has been sentenced to nearly two centuries behind bars for sex crimes involving two students.

According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, 44-year-old Cory Kapahulehua was sentenced to 187 years in prison after being convicted on more than a dozen charges.

The case involved sexual relationships with two girls, who were 14 and 17 years old at the time of the crimes, while he was teaching at the Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center’s Mesa campus.

Kapahulehua met both girls in August 2021. The 14-year-old told investigators that she had sex with Kapahulehua on school grounds until he was fired in January 2022. She reported that their intimate encounters continued off campus, including at a hotel near the school and a nearby parking garage.

The older girl told police that Kapahulehua brought her to his apartment on multiple occasions to have sex while she was still 17.

Prosecutors said he even started an online fundraiser to help her move out of her parents’ home, and that the two eventually moved in together after she turned 18.

“This defendant used his position as a teacher to groom these students and take advantage of their trust,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said. “I’m proud of these girls for having the courage to come forward and stop him from victimizing any children ever again.”

After both victims came forward, Kapahulehua was arrested in 2023.

Last month, a jury found him guilty of 17 felony charges that included child molestation, sexual conduct with a minor and sexual abuse.