The recent arrest of a former Norman Public Schools special education teacher's aide has parents fuming, saying that they addressed complaints about the man's alleged propensity for violence and misconduct multiple times over the course of his employment but their complaints were ignored.

Christopher Ray Flores, who worked for Norman Public Schools from 2001 to 2010, was charged earlier this month with two counts of lewd molestation after allegedly admitting to touching inappropriately a 9-year-old relative in 2009. Parents of students who were in Flores's class at Wilson Elementary School say they are not surprised by the allegations, and that they had warned the school and police about Flores's actions for nearly a decade. They contend, however, that their concerns were dismissed and they accuse the school of a "cover-up" to protect its image, comparing the district's lack of action to the Penn State scandal and the abuse that took place at the hands of Jerry Sandusky.

Parents not only notified the school district of their concerns, they also filed lawsuits against the school. Five parents sued the school in 2007, and another family filed suit in 2011. Those lawsuits were ultimately settled, bu the terms of the settlement are subject to nondisclosure. In 2012, two more former students filed suit, and now a new lawsuit has been filed.

Parents complain that, though the school system and police were aware of their concerns, the incidents involving Flores went uninvestigated. They allege that the school district moved Flores, but kept him on staff to protect their reputation, failing to protect children. They say that Norman police "covered up" the incidents because Flores's father is a Sargeant with the Norman Police Department.

School officials and the Norman Police Department deny allegations of a cover-up. The school contends that the lewd molestation charges are unrelated to any disciplinary issues with the former teacher's aid. The police department says they turned over the investigation to the OSBI and the District Attorney's Office, but that the DA declined to press charges. Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn says that he declined to press charges in the 2007 incident because the OSBI report did not indicate that criminal acts had taken place. He said it was difficult to gather reliable information because the witnesses were special needs, emotionally disturbed children whose answers may have been influenced by parents and attorneys.

Though the school system says that parents never raised concerns about possible sexual abuse, the latest lawsuit claims otherwise, saying that Flores was accused of taking children to his home in the middle of the school day, and that he was told to stop but continued to do so.

Allegations against Flores described in the police reports and lawsuits from his time at Wilson Elementary include:

  • Throwing children to the ground and placing them in a prone restraint
  • Putting dirty socks in children's mouths
  • Placing them in dark isolation rooms
  • Pressing their heads and bodies against the floor for extended periods of time
  • Sitting on children to restrain them
  • Tying children up with ropes
  • Taking children to his home in the middle of the day and inviting at least one child to spend the night with him

A spokeswoman for the Norman school district points out that just because allegations are made in a lawsuit does not mean these allegations are true. Any time a person is accused of physical or sexual abuse of a child, the general public is quick to paint that person as a monster. However, it is important to remember that a person is to be considered innocent unless and until he or she is proven to be guilty. Although allegations of molestation should be quickly and thoroughly investigated, the rights of the accused must be upheld to insure justice. Finding a sex crimes defense lawyer in Oklahoma should be the first step in the criminal justice process for anyone accused of lewd molestation or child sexual abuse.