Fouts Pleads Not Guilty To Statutory Sodomy Charge

Freeman Fouts, a former staffer at the Sullivan School District, has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree sodomy charge in Wayne County.

Fouts, 35, also has been charged in Cape Girardeau County for the same offense.

Charges came down in both counties in November 2020.

Fouts allegedly raped one of his students at Cape Girardeau Central between January 2009 and May 2010.

According to online court records, Fouts was scheduled to be arraigned in Wayne County on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

He entered a waiver of arraignment and a plea of not guilty.

Fouts is represented by Bryan Greaser, who filed a request for a speedy trial on Feb. 19.

A preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24 in Cape Girardeau was canceled. It was pushed to March 25.

Fouts is currently in federal custody.

He was working at the Washington School District up until his arrest in December.

Fouts worked at Sullivan from June 2014 to July 2018 as a middle school English/Language arts teacher.

According to the Southeast Missourian, Fouts befriended the victim during the 2008-09 school year. In January 2009, he allegedly began giving the victim rides home from school.

Between January 2009 and May 2010, Fouts allegedly began sexually assaulting the victim, which also included incidents in Wayne County and Destin, Fla.

The Southeast Missourian reported that on Nov. 12, Fouts allegedly admitted during a phone call with the victim that they had an inappropriate sexual relationship.

The probable cause statement said Fouts seemed “extremely nervous” and “repeatedly expressed regret and remorse.”