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:
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.
Oklahoma continues to struggle with a serious meth problem. The state is among the top in the nation for meth arrests, manufacture, and addiction, a distinction Oklahoma legislators and law enforcement would like to reduce. Despite programs such as the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services' (ODMHSAS) Oklahoma Methamphetamine Prevention Initiative (OMPI), meth abuse and manufacture continue to be a significant problem in the state. In 2011, law enforcement agents discovered 843 meth labs in the state, an 3 percent increase over the previous year. In Tulsa alone, officers discovered 429 meth labs, a staggering increase of 30 percent over 2010. With the ease of manufacturing meth through the one-pot method or "shake and bake" method, almost any location can be a meth lab. In fact, in December 2011, an Oklahoma woman was arrested after trying to cook meth inside a Tulsa Walmart, and yesterday, undercover drug agents in Purcell dismantled a meth lab discovered in a "porta-potty" in the middle of a golf course.
The reasons for meth's prevalence include its wide availability, its ability to provide a longer high than other drugs, its low cost, and its ease of manufacture using common legal ingredients and tools.
One attempt by legislators to crack down on meth in Oklahoma is to restrict the availability of the legal drugs used to manufacture meth. Pseudoephedrine, a common over-the-counter cold and sinus medication, is no longer kept on the shelves for easy access, and purchasers must show photo identification in order to buy the drug. If a person has been previously convicted of a methamphetamine-relate crime, he or she is unable to buy or possess pseudoephedrine. The Oklahoma Methamphetamine Offender Registry Act is designed to keep track of meth offenders and keep them from re-offending.
The Oklahoma Methamphetamine Offender Registry Act is detailed in the state's Public Health and Safety Code under 63 O.S. § 2-701. This law requires that anyone convicted of meth crimes, including possession, manufacture, distribution, or trafficking of methamphetamine and/or its precursors register as a meth offender. Anyone who is an Oklahoma meth offender is prohibited from purchasing or possessing pseudoephedrine, even if he or she has a prescription for the medication.
The registry is maintained by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control (OBNDD) and is available to law enforcement agencies and pharmacies or locations that sell pseudoephedrine and meth precursors. Using the electronic methamphetamine precursor tracking service, the system is designed to stop the sale of meth ingredients to registered offenders at the point of purchase.
Information required by the state meth offender registry includes:
Violation of the Oklahoma Methamphetamine Offender Registry Act is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and a prison sentence of two to ten years. Furthermore, the Act prohibits anyone from assisting a registered meth offender in obtaining pseudoephedrine or meth precursors. Anyone who does so may be convicted of a misdemeanor and subject to a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 on the first offense. Subsequent offenses are felonies punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and a maximum of two years in prison.
Last year, an Oklahoma drug crime defense lawyer appealed his client's conviction of violating the Act, saying that she was not informed that an otherwise legal activity--purchasing pseudoephedrine--was prohibited to her as a registered offender. The appeal led to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals striking down portions of the Act, ruling that the woman was not given notice of the stipulations of the Act, and was therefore denied due process.
If you are facing drug charges or have been charged with violating the Oklahoma Methamphetamine Offender Registry Act, make sure you understand your rights and responsibilities under the law, and move quickly to hire an attorney who is equipped to handle your defense. When you need a drug crimes lawyer in Oklahoma, contact attorney Ryan Coventon for help.
With its notoriously tough drug laws, Oklahoma can be a tough place to be arrested for drug possession. An AlterNet.org article even proclaims Oklahoma as one of the "5 Worst States to Get Busted for Pot." Possession of marijuana, which is legal in some states, can lead to lengthy prison sentences for repeat offenders in Oklahoma. If you have been arrested for possession of marijuana, prescription drugs, or a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), you may wonder what your specific charge may hold in store for you if you are convicted.
Simple drug possession is the most common drug charge in the state. In Oklahoma, drug possession for personal use may be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or felony depending on the type of drug found in one's possession and whether or not you have previously been convicted of possession. Possession of marijuana and illegal possession certain prescription drugs is charged as a misdemeanor on the first offense and as a felony on second and subsequent offenses. Drug possession is charged as a felony on the first offense if the drug involved is a Schedule I or II controlled dangerous substance (CDS) such as heroin, cocaine, LSD, crack, or meth (although marijuana is a Schedule I drug, it is treated as a lesser drug in possession charges).
The penalties for a misdemeanor drug conviction include up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. A person convicted of a misdemeanor drug crime may be eligible for a deferred sentence, which keeps him or her out of jail pending successful completion of probation and allows him or her to be eligible for record expungement.
The penalties for a felony possession charge are much more severe. A second offense of possession of marijuana or a Schedule III, IV, or V substance is punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Possession of a Schedule I or II drug is also punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine on the first offense, but a second offense is punishable by double the sentence--4 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
If you are determined to be in possession of a CDS with the intent to distribute, or if you possess a sufficient quantity to trigger the state's trafficking statute, you face the possibility of life in prison.
Marijuana possession is a common offense that in some states is perfectly legal and in other states is a minor infraction punishable by a $100 fine--lower than many traffic tickets. In Oklahoma, however, simple drug possession can put you behind bars for up to a year for a first offense of marijuana to 20 years for a second offense of meth possession.
With such harsh penalties allowed under Oklahoma drug laws, it is imperative that anyone accused of a drug crime in the state quickly obtain experienced defense counsel. When you need a drug lawyer in Oklahoma, contact attorney Ryan Coventon for help. Call today to schedule a confidential evaluation of your case.
