A Konawaena Middle School teacher facing three counts of sexual assault against a minor has been released after posting bail on Friday.
John Lee Franks, 43, of Ocean View, is charged with 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. The court records indicate Franks also goes by the name John Pryor.
According to the complaint filed Thursday, 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 this year.
Franks, who made his initial appearance in Koan District Court Thursday during which Judge Kimberly Taniyama reduced bail to $50,000 from $150,000, was scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Friday.
The hearing, during which prosecutors would have worked to show they have probable cause to support the charges, was continued after Deputy Public Defender Fredrick Macapinlac requested a continuation on the grounds that he just received discovery documents. Franks waived his procedural rights to have a preliminary hearing within 48 hours of an initial court appearance. Taniyama granted the motion to continue, setting the preliminary hearing for March 10.
Nanea Kalani, communications director for the state Department of Education, confirmed Franks’ employment as a student services coordinator at Konawaena Middle School in South Kona. Franks was first employed with the department in 2008 as a special education teacher.
Kalani said she was still working on “verifying the status” of Franks’ employment in a Thursday afternoon email. A request for an update on his employment status after making bail was not answered as of press time Saturday.
All three offenses are Class A felonies, each of which can result in 20 years behind bars if Franks is convicted.
