WEBB CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former southwest Missouri junior high teacher has pleaded guilty to third-degree child molestation.
Twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Popejoy, of Arma, Kansas, agreed to a plea agreement Monday. A second count of sexual contact with a student was dropped.
Popejoy was a science and math teacher, freshman boys basketball coach and coed track coach at Webb City Junior High School before he was fired in November 2019.
A probable cause statement said Popejoy inappropriately touched a boy under the age of 14 on school grounds. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for March 1.
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WEBB CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas man has been charged with sexually assaulting a student at a Missouri school where he taught and coached.
Twenty-eight-year-old Nicholas Popejoy, of Arma, Kansas, pleaded not guilty Monday to statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy of someone under the age of 14. His attorney, Teresa Grantham, didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press. His bond is set at $100,000 cash.
Popejoy worked for the Webb City, Missouri, school district from August 2014 to Nov. 18. He was the freshman boys’ basketball coach and the assistant high school track coach. He also taught science and math at the junior high.
The affidavit says Popejoy used his position as a coach to gain private access to the minor.