A change of plea was entered in Circuit Court on Tuesday for a former Konawaena Middle School teacher accused of sexually assaulting a minor last year.
John Lee Franks of Ocean View was indicted Feb. 23, 2022, on two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a minor and one count of continuous sexual assault of a minor stemming from alleged incidents committed against a girl between November 2021 and mid-February 2022.
Court records indicate Franks also goes by the name John Pryor.
According to a charging complaint filed Feb. 17, 2022, in District Court, Franks knowingly engaged in “sexual penetration” with a minor female born in 2009, who was less than 14 years old, on Nov. 9, 2021, and Feb. 10 and 14 of 2022.
Franks pleaded not guilty to the charges and was set to stand trial Tuesday. However, he changed his plea to no contest to a lesser included charge of third-degree sexual assault based on an offer made by the prosecutor’s office.
The remaining first-degree sexual assault and continuous sexual assault of a minor will be dropped because of the agreement.
Franks most recently worked as a student services coordinator at Konawaena Middle School. He was first employed with the department in 2008 as a special education teacher.
According to the department, the alleged offenses did not occur on a public school campus.
Derek Inoshita, communications specialist with the state Department of Education, said Franks s no longer a DOE employee and separated from the department in January 2023. Inoshita could not provide reasons for the separation due to employee privacy restrictions.
Third-degree sexual assault is a class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment and $10,000 fine.
Franks has been free on $50,000 bail since the indictment. Sentencing is set for Dec. 29.