Former Carl Junction R-1 bus driver sentenced to four years on statutory sodomy, sexual contact with a student charges

Former Carl Junction R-1 School District bus driver Dennis Frakes was sentenced to four years in prison today during a hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to statutory sodomy and sexual contact with a student charges.

Frakes, 68, admitted to fondling a high school student multiple times in an off-campus setting and to touching her genital area during a school band competition at Missouri Southern State University March 27, 2015, according to the probable cause statement.

The girl was under age 17 at the time.

The crimes involved a former Carl Junction student who was attending a different school, according to a statement issued by R-1 officials on November 9, 2019:

Yesterday (Friday), the former driver on bus #4, Dennis Frakes, was arrested for inappropriate behaviors with a student. The minor is a former Carl Junction student and was not a rider on his bus route.

The district received a report on October 25. Within an hour of learning of this situation, Frakes was given due process and released from his employment at Carl Junction Schools.

The matter was hotlined and turned over to Carl Junction Police Department.