NAYLOR, Mo. -- The Naylor School Board recently accepted the resignation of a suspended assistant principal accused of sexually assaulting a female student on campus and directed its attorney to begin the process of revoking the man's teaching credentials.
On Oct. 23, a female student reported to the Ripley County Sheriff's Department she had been sexually assaulted by John Franklin Mullins in a supply closet at the school.
"Mullins was immediately relieved of his duties and has been criminally charged in Ripley County Circuit Court," according to a press release from Superintendent Terry Arnold.
Mullins, Arnold said earlier, had been placed on paid administrative leave per state statute.
The 52-year-old Gatewood, Mo., man was charged Oct. 25 with the unclassified felonies of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy and two Class D felonies of sexual contact with a student.
Mullins, who is free on bond, appeared in court Wednesday for arraignment before Associate Circuit Judge Thomas Swindle.
Mullins waived formal arraignment and was ordered to appear on Dec. 2 for a preliminary hearing in his case.
Later in the day, the Naylor School Board met to consider Mullins' alleged conduct, Arnold said.
At that meeting, "the board voted to accept Mullins' resignation, effective immediately, and also directed the district's legal counsel to prepare charges before the State Board of Education to have Mullins' teaching certificate permanently revoked," Arnold said.
The district, Arnold said, is "fully cooperating in this matter with law enforcement officials."
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 he was named assistant high school principal.
"The district places the highest priority on maintaining a safe environment for all students," Arnold said. "However, in spite of the efforts of the board and district staff, a district employee has apparently violated the most sacred trust given him by the board and the community.
"His employment has been terminated; his license to teach will be revoked, and he will be criminally prosecuted."
While the district is cooperating with the ongoing criminal investigation, "if other students have been harmed, we ask that they notify law enforcement and school officials immediately," Arnold said.
If, as a result of this "tragic act, students or their parents feel the need for counseling assistance, the district will provide services," Arnold said.