Assistant principal waives arraignment on rape charges

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- A suspended Naylor, Missouri, assistant high-school principal accused of sexually assaulting a female student made his first court appearance Wednesday, waiving formal arraignment.

John Franklin Mullins, 52, of Gatewood, Missouri, appeared before Associate Circuit Judge Thomas Swindle for arraignment on charges of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy and two counts of sexual contact with a student, all felonies.

Swindle ordered Mullins to appear at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 2 for a preliminary hearing

Ripley County Circuit Clerk Sharon Richmond said the felony complaint and probable-cause statement filed in Mullins' case were unsealed Tuesday. Swindle earlier had sealed both documents at the prosecutor's request.

"The prosecutor asked that those two documents only be unsealed ... not the case," Richmond said.

The complaint alleges on Friday, Mullins knowingly had sexual intercourse with a female juvenile by "use of forcible compulsion."

The complaint further alleges the incident took place in a school supply closet.

Mullins, according to earlier reports, has been with the Naylor district since 2008, first as a junior-high and high-school science teacher, and the past year was named assistant high-school principal.

Authorities learned of the alleged abuse Friday when a parent contacted the Ripley County Sheriff's Department.

"The victim said she went with the suspect to a storage closet to get paper towels, (and) while inside the closet, the suspect" touched her inappropriately, Sgt. Jeff Johnson wrote in his probable-cause statement.

The student further reported Mullins sexually assaulted her, Johnson wrote.

At one point, Mullins asked "if she would like to have sex, and she said no," Johnson wrote.

A medical exam performed on the girl "determined (she) had sustained injuries consistent with forcible rape," Johnson wrote.

Mullins admitted to some of the allegations having occurred "while they were in the aforementioned closet," but "could not remember" whether he raped the student, Johnson wrote.

Mullins was arrested at 4 p.m. Saturday, booked into the Doniphan City Jail and subsequently charged.

He was released from jail Sunday evening after posting a $100,000 cash or surety bond.

Pertinent address:

Naylor, Mo.