Nixa Assistant Principal Allegedly Posed as Teen Girl to Obtain Explicit Photos

An assistant principal at Nixa Junior High School pretended to be a teen girl to solicit nude photos from a Christian County youth.

Colby Fronterhouse, 41, was charged in U.S. District Court in Springfield with one count of producing child pornography. Prosecutors noted that Fronterhouse was employed at the junior high school at the time of the alleged crime.

An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint said that a Christian County Sheriff’s deputy was contacted by a 13-year-old “John Doe” and his father in September 2020. The victim said he had been engaging in a series of text messages with Fronterhouse, who had been posing as a 14-year-old girl. Fronterhouse encouraged John Doe to send him sexually explicit images of himself.

Fronterhouse allegedly made requests for specific poses or types of images, and held sexually explicit conversations with John Doe.

Fronterhouse was using a Voice over Internet Protocol account with a burner phone number for the interactions with John Doe, but investigators were able to trace the account.

A search warrant was executed at Fronterhouse’s residence on Tuesday, January 26, when Fronterhouse was placed under arrest. Investigators found cell phone and found evidence linking his cell phone to the burner account; Fronterhouse also accessed the victim’s cell phone number through school records.

The Homeland Security Investigation Task Force is asking for the public’s assistance in the investigation to determine if there were other victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact Officer Joseph Fletcher at (417) 572-2606.