LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Rodney Stults was fired Tuesday from his teaching position at Bullitt Central High School after a police investigation found "at least eight possible victims" of inappropriate behavior.

Assistant County Attorney Nathan Ray Batey II said in a letter dated Aug. 9 to a Bullitt County detective that "grooming behavior alleged to have occurred" by Stults included "kissing individuals on the face, having students sit in his lap, providing alcohol to minors, and inappropriate communications through telephone, text, and social media."

Shepherdsville Police investigators said the alleged criminal activity — reported by both boys and girls — occurred both on and off campus over a period of time between 2013-22, but those alleged incidents were just reported to police in May 2023. Screenshots obtained by WDRB appear to show Stults sent inappropriate Facebook messages to one of the students back in 2015. Police said the statute of limitations for the reported criminal activity ended in 2016.

"The pattern is the same," Shepherdsville Detective Casey Clark said in July. "The information that they're giving us is consistent. ... It's not identical but it's really close to the exact same thing happening to all of these individuals."

The police investigations said newly graduated students went on a Red River Gorge trip with Stults during which he had a water bottle full of vodka. He let a student drink from it, leading her to get drunk, police said.

Two former students said their tent had a hole in it, and it got wet. So they slept in Stults' tent instead. The investigation said when one of the students had to go to the restroom, "Stults took her to the restroom and stood and watched her the whole time." And when walking back to the tent, "Stults stopped her, pulled her close to him, grabbing her butt and around her waist."

One alleged victim, who is now 26 years old and married, wrote to BCPS Superintendent Jesse Bacon and other district leaders in May that it's taken her years to realize she was "groomed and sexually abused by this man." She said she was diagnosed with PTSD related to the experiences she had with Stults.

"I'm still haunted by the things that took place with Rodney," she wrote. "I don't take allegations of sexual abuse lightly ... but I refuse to carry this information with me any further.

"Please fire this man. Young girls are not safe around him ..."

The police investigation also detailed certain games that were played at band camp. A student said they played a game where Stults would yell out, "Grab a boob."

A former student told investigators about a time at band camp when students played a game called "Anatomy Shuffle." The student said Stults would yell out a body part, and students had to touch that body part to another student's body part. And the former student claimed to police investigators that Stults would yell "Mouth to Mouth," and students would kiss each other, combinations of girls kissing girls, boys kissing boys and girls kissing boys.

Another former student said Stults took band students to Bernheim Forest, where they played a game in which they tied a balloon to their waists and competed to see who could pop each other's balloons. The student said Stults tackled her and "was on top of her straddling her."

"Rodney Stults was grabbing at the balloon, trying to pop it, while he was on top of her," police said.

In a written statement Tuesday, Bacon said after initially addressing district policy violations with Stults related to "communications with students," police notified BCPS in July of additional students who'd come forward with allegations of inappropriate conduct while they were in school. Bacon said Stults was placed into a non-instructional role in the district's transportation department in July pending the outcome of the police investigation.

"After the SPD investigation details were shared with BCPS, and following additional investigation by BCPS, review of Mr. Stults personnel file and appropriate due process requirements, the Superintendent has terminated Rodney Stults' contract with BCPS," Bacon said in a written statement Tuesday.

As for the SPD investigation, police said because of the statute of limitations ran out, Stults won't face criminal charges related to the allegations. In a news release Tuesday, police said the case is now closed.

"After receiving these reports and conducting an investigation the results were shared with the Bullitt County Attorney's Office," police said. "After reviewing these findings, it was decided that due to time limitations and questions of jurisdiction no criminal charges could be filed."

BCPS said since he's a tenured employee, Stults will have the ability to challenge his firing through a tribunal process. Stults has long insisted the allegations against him are false, but he didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

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