A little more than a week after one Oklahoma City-area high school coach was found guilty of second degree rape for having a sexual relationship with a student, another metro-area high school coach has been arrested after being accused of sexually abusing a minor.
On April 25, former Western Heights High School basketball coach Tyrone Nash was found guilty in a bench trial of five counts of second degree rape and five counts of forcible oral sodomy. Although the girl in the case was 16 years old at the time of the offenses and even admitted to getting Nash's number off of his cell phone when he wasn't looking, state law prohibits sex between students and school district employees.Nash's attorney argued that Nash was neither the girl's coach nor teacher, and therefore, was not in a position of authority over her. He challenged the constitutionality of Oklahoma law as it pertains to relationships between students and district employees, but a judge upheld the existing law. Upon finding Nash guilty, Judge Jerry Bass said that if Nash had been a "responsible teacher," he would have handled differently a number of situations that led to the relationship. He cited some 4500 text messages exchanged between Nash and the student and said such communication was "not normal."
Just over a week later, on May 5, a Moore High School basketball coach was arrested after a student under the age of 16 said that he had inappropriate sexual contact with several times over the past two years.
Police were notified of the accusations against the coach when the mother of his accuser walked into a police station in late March and said that her daughter told a friend that Aaron Howell, 38, had touched her inappropriately at a private residence over the last two years, with the last incident taking place in November 2013. According to reports, his accuser said that Howell fondled her, but never attempted to have sexual intercourse with her.
The coach turned himself in to authorities on Monday. He was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail that afternoon on a complaint of lewd acts with a child under 16. As of this writing, bail has not been set and Howell remains in jail.
Lewd or Indecent Proposals or Acts to a Child Under 16 is a felony sex crime regardless of whether those involved are teachers or students. No one under 16 can consent to sexual activity with an adult aged 18 or older. Often called "child molestation," lewd acts to a minor carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if the victim is aged 12 to 15; however, if the victim is under the age of 12, the crime carries a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. Anyone convicted of lewd acts with minors must register as an Oklahoma Sex Offender for life.
