This story was originally published by the Daily Montanan.
Darrell Ehrlick
Daily Montanan
A state district court judge has rejected a plea deal that could have seen a former Colstrip High School teacher accused of multiple felonies for having repeated sexual contact with a 15-year-old student avoid prison time altogether.
Last month, Rosebud County District Court Judge Rennie Wittman told William Eugene Schuman-Kline that she was going to reject the plea agreement that would have sentenced him to 20 years in state prison, suspended 16 of them, and then had the option of serving no jail time.
Attorneys for the former high school teacher had argued that prison time wouldn’t benefit anyone, and mounted a letter-writing campaign from community members, teachers, university professors and even religious leaders who asked the court for leniency.
Meanwhile, advocates for Indigenous People urged the court to reject the plea agreement, saying that there’s been a longstanding and systemic practice of courts doling out light punishments, especially when the victims are youth and Native American.
Wittman explained to Schuman-Kline, the court would not agree with the plea deal and instead sentence him on two different counts of sexual assault, one that carried a 20-year sentence, with 10 suspended; and another that carries a 10-year sentence, with no time suspended. Both of the counts would have run concurrently, meaning that Schuman-Kline would have spent at least 10 years in custody of the Montana Department of Corrections before being released.
Wittman allowed Schuman-Kline to withdraw from the plea agreement, which he did, and opted instead to have the case head for a trial, scheduled for Jan. 5-9, 2026.
A letter from Colstrip High School Principal Robin Nansel, who first reported the crime after students from a sports team informed her about it, urged Wittman to use the moment to demonstrate to the community that it will not tolerate the behavior and will protect students.
“The damage does not end with (the victim). His betrayal did not only devastate this student personally; it sent shockwaves through her peers, her friends and the staff members who worked alongside the defendant,” Nansel wrote in a letter to the judge. “A strong and just sentence is necessary — not only to hold him accountable, but to affirm to all students and families that we will protect them and such a betrayal will never be tolerated.”
Advocates for victims of sexual assault and indigenous women strongly objected to the terms of the plea deal, despite nearly two dozen letters of support for Schuman-Kline, whose family, former professors and even religious counselors said deserved leniency for his actions after being charged. Warrior Women For Justice said it worried that the case would become just another in a long list of offenses against Native people which receive a lighter sentence.
“Historically, courts have struggled with holding accountability to non-Natives that commit heinous crimes within Indigenous communities, and within our own communities,” the letter from Nicci Wagy, the executive director of the group wrote to Wittman.
Lucy Simpson, the executive Director of the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, stated it more bluntly.
“The NIWRC support the court’s imposition of the maximum sentence under law, as well as permanently barring Mr. Schuman-Kline from teaching, coaching or working with children in any capacity,” it said.
Schuman-Kline declined comment or interview for this story as did his counsel, Mark Parker.
The charges
The Rosebud County Attorney’s Office charged Schuman-Kline in January with five counts, four of them felonies including sexual assault and sexual abuse of a child.
According to court documents, Schuman-Kline was a first-year teacher at Colstrip and around 27 years old at the time when he is alleged to have begun flirting with a 15-year-old student. The inappropriate and illegal behavior described in court documents spanned a period from October through December 2023.
Those documents state that Schuman-Kline used his power as a teacher to coerce her into sexual activity that she could not consent to as a minor, and also because he was in a position of authority as a teacher.
Students at the high school as well as athletic coaches noticed what they considered to be suspicious behavior. The victim and Schuman-Kline had communicated often during the two-month span with the app Snapchat. The court documents said that Schuman-Kline also gave alcohol to the victim both on school grounds and a recreation building.
The court documents also allege that he would help the student with her homework after class and without anyone else present. The victim later told investigators that Schuman-Kline gave her credit for work she did not complete. The court documents also describe times when Schuman-Kline would “make out” with the victim, and details several instances where they engaged in sexual contact.
Authorities also say that Schuman-Kline and the victim used the Snapchat application to send explicit photos to each other, which the application would quickly delete. Court documents said that through forensic recovery of the phone, investigators said that Schuman-Kline had sent nude photographs of himself, while the victim sent several photos of herself topless.
Schuman-Kline also encouraged the victim to use the Snapchat app because it was “sneakier” than other applications, and even though his wife had checked his phone, she had found nothing, court documents said.
Other students reported that they had witnessed Schuman-Kline putting his hands on the student’s butt.
Court documents said that Schuman-Kline became jealous if the student started focusing on other teachers’ homework, and the victim told investigators that “it was not his fault that she had ‘seduced the teacher.’”
A police investigator also interviewed friends of the victim who said that she had confided that Schuman-Kline and the student had sex, but had been interrupted by when the class bell rang.
Authorities confirmed that they were also able to recover the photographs the victim had sent to Schuman-Kline.