Naylor assistant principal faces sex charges

NAYLOR, Mo. -- Naylor's assistant high school principal is on administrative leave after being charged with several sex-related offenses involving a student.

John F. Mullins, 52, of Gatewood, Missouri, was charged Sunday with felony counts of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and two counts of sexual contact with a student by the Ripley County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, according to a news release from Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Shawn Griggs.

Mullins was placed on administrative leave with pay by Naylor school superintendent Terry Arnold.

"It's required by statute, by law, we put him on paid administrative leave," Arnold said. "We don't have a choice."

Mullins, according to Arnold, has "no access to our facility. We take the safety of our students very seriously."

Arnold said school officials have been in contact with law enforcement.

"They are going to have a stronger presence here (and) be on campus more," Arnold said. "... It's just precautionary."

Mullins, Arnold said, has been with the district since 2008, first as a teacher, and was named assistant principal "just this year."

Mullins, who reportedly had been a junior-high and high-school science teacher, was arrested at 4 p.m. Saturday by the highway patrol as the result of an investigation by members of the Ripley County Sheriff's Department, who had requested assistance from state investigators.

The investigation, Griggs said, was initiated Saturday after the sheriff's department received a report "alleging a staff member of the Naylor School District sexually assaulted a juvenile student."

Ripley County Sheriff Ron Barnett said his department was contacted by a parent regarding an alleged assault that had "just happened."

"We got the information that it happened, and I turned it over basically to (the state Division of Drug and Crime Control) to handle," Barnett said.

Other details are not available, as Associate Circuit Judge David Swindle issued an order sealing Mullins' file at the request of the prosecuting attorney, according to Ripley County Circuit Clerk Sharon Richmond.

Mullins, who had been booked at the Doniphan City Jail, was released Sunday evening after posting a $100,000 cash or surety bond.

Richmond said Mullins may appear today before Swindle for arraignment, but "I don't know for sure because I don't have all the paperwork in yet, but that would be the normal procedure."

Pertinent address:

Naylor, Mo.