Missouri Teacher Allegedly Sexually Abused 10 Students at School: 'You're Going to Get Me Fired'

A Missouri teacher has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, enticement of a child and sodomy after he allegedly abused 10 of his students

Photo: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office

A Missouri middle school teacher has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, enticement of a child and sodomy after he allegedly abused 10 of his students, PEOPLE confirms.

Rodney Thomas — a 39-year-old teacher and wrestling coach in Maysville, Missouri — is accused of inappropriately touching and suggesting sexual contact with the students at the Maysville R1 School between August 2016 and January 2017, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Thomas has been charged with nine counts of sexual contact with a student by a teacher, nine counts of attempted enticement of a child and two counts of statutory sodomy.

In February, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri was contacted by the school district’s superintendent regarding allegations that one of the teachers was touching students inappropriately, court documents state.

According to the documents, the victims ranged in age from 13 to 17.

The first victim, who is now 17, told investigators that when she was 15 to 16 years old, Thomas allegedly made comments about how her “jeans made her butt look good.”

During 2015 and 2017, when the girl was in her junior and senior years at the school, Thomas allegedly began grabbing her rear or squeezing her breasts, the documents show. By the time she was a senior, the alleged touching occurred daily.

In one instance, according to the documents, Thomas allegedly talked to the girl about having sex, sexual dreams he had about her and how he wanted her to tell him “what she thought would feel good.”

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The girl alleges Thomas kissed her on her neck often — twice on the mouth — and would stick his hand down her pants and use code words to let he know what he wanted to do.

The math teacher would also allegedly have the girl change clothes in his classroom while he watched.

“Thomas would tell her he had dreams about stripping her clothes off, kissing her body, and taking her to a hotel/motel.,” the documents state.

The girl said she refused to take photos of her genitals for him after he allegedly asked her to take his phone to the school bathroom.

The second victim, who is 15 years old, claims Thomas touched her genitals while he was helping her with a math problem, the documents state. She also alleges he sodomized her.

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Several of the victims claim Thomas would put his hands under their shirts or touch their lower backs during class. Multiple witnesses confirmed the victims’ accusations, according to the documents, which would sometimes happen with other students in the room.

One victim told investigators Thomas allegedly began touching her when she was under the age of 15; and once, while she was writing something on classroom’s work board, he said, “Damn, you’re going to get me fired!”

Thomas has been placed on administrative leave and restricted from school district property, the Maysville R-1 School District said in a statement on their website. School officials could not immediately be reached for further comment.

“The District will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and to provide support for students throughout this process,” the statement continued. “The District values the security and safety of all students and continues to encourage students and parents to report any incidents of inappropriate contact by an adult so it can take prompt and necessary action.”

Thomas remains behind bars on a bond of $150,000, KTTN reports.

He has not entered a plea to his charges and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.