Convicted or Accused
Originally published in The Oklahoman Online, June 17, 2001
More than a dozen Oklahoma educators have been accused or convicted of sex-related crimes in the last few years. Among those convicted or whose court cases have concluded:
Dennis E. Addington: The former math teacher at Enid's Waller Junior High was charged in January 2000 with one felony count of possessing obscene material involving a minor child. The charges came after someone in Green Bay, Wis., complained to police about receiving e-mail containing pornographic pictures of a juvenile girl involved in a sex act with an adult. Addington, 51, received a 20-year suspended sentence, and in February, the state Education Board revoked his teaching certificate.
Cynthia Ann Alexander: Alexander worked as a communication skills teacher and cheerleading coach at Broken Arrow's Childers Middle School when she was arrested in late 1999. An eighth-grade cheerleader accused Alexander, now 35, of touching her genital area. She pleaded no contest to three felony counts last year and received a nine-year prison sentence and six years probation. Her teaching certificate also was revoked. A civil lawsuit filed by the victim's mother against the school district was settled for an undisclosed amount.
Ronald K. Cunningham: The 29-year-old was a Preston Middle School teacher when he began writing sexually suggestive e-mails and notes to a then-14-year-old student in 1998. He was sentenced in April to five years in prison and five years of probation after he pleaded no contest to oral sodomy. The plea also included 11 other sex-related felonies, for which he received concurrent, 10-year suspended sentences. Proceedings to revoke his Oklahoma teaching certificate are pending. The school district recently settled a federal lawsuit filed by the girl's parents.
Ronald Dean Mitchell: The former Empire teacher pleaded guilty in 1998 to two charges of lewd molestation. Mitchell, 53, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with all but seven years suspended. The state Board of Education revoked his teaching certificate number in February.
Gene Paul Ray: The former Altus Middle School teacher was convicted in 1998 of molesting a 12-year-old student in 1998. Ray's attorney said the former teacher maintains his innocence and is appealing his conviction. Now 46, Ray is serving consecutive 10-year sentences at the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton.
Harry Red Eagle Jr.: Red Eagle was the Skiatook girls basketball coach when he was accused in August 2000 of secretly videotaping girls in the locker room. Portions of one of the tapes were aired by a Tulsa television station last year. Red Eagle resigned and pleaded no contest earlier this month to six charges, including lewd acts with a child under age 16. His plea agreement calls for a 20-year suspended sentence, during which he will be on probation. He is barred from teaching. Some of the girls' parents have sued Red Eagle and the district.
Mark Edward Ward: The former baseball coach and health and physical education teacher pleaded no contest in October 1998 for fondling a 15-year-old student. The case involved a high school freshman who told police Ward placed his hand in her pants after she and a friend stopped at his home in Vici in late 1994 en route to a band contest. He received a two-year deferred sentence and spent two weekends in a county jail. He was prohibited from working in a public school for two years and still holds an Oklahoma teaching certificate.
James Clifton Williams: The former Jenks East Middle School civics teacher is serving a four-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty last year to making a lewd proposal. The sentence will be followed by six years of probation. Williams, now 53, made a "graphic and explicit" telephone call to a 14-year-old student in 1999. He said he had previously been admonished and received two letters of reprimand for two separate, earlier instances involving female students, according to a corrections department report.
ACCUSED
Donald Kip Boggs: The former Apache High School agriculture teacher was charged in February with rape and two counts of indecent exposure. Boggs, 37, is accused of having sexual encounters with two Apache students and as many as four Comanche High School students at a job he held more than a decade ago. The rape charge stems from allegations that Boggs had a seven-month consensual relationship in 2000 that began when the girl was 15. Prosecutors also said Boggs had oral sex with a student in his motel room while on a school-sponsored trip. The court case has not concluded. Superintendent Cory Ellis recommended his firing. Boggs resigned in May. His trial is set to continue July 24.
Thomas J. Carmichael: Charges against the 56-year-old Star Spencer High School teacher include first-degree rape by instrumentation, indecent or lewd acts with a child under 16 and indecent exposure. The sexual assaults occurred March 13 and 14 during a camping trip at Lake Arcadia in Edmond, a court affidavit said. The victim, Carmichael and two other children were sleeping in a tent, the affidavit said. His next court appearance is set for July 19.
Mathew David Heisey: Heisey taught biology and was assistant football coach at Harrah High School before resigning in December 2000. The 26-year-old was subsequently charged with indecent proposals to a child under 16 and two counts of sexual battery. Students alleged he touched them inappropriately and made sexually suggestive comments during class, including a joke about orgasms, according to court documents. His preliminary hearing is set for July 16.
James Infante: Infante, 45, is a former band director at Turpin High School. He is charged with sexual battery and rape by instrumentation after a 17-year-old student complained to another teacher. In court records, the girl claims she was assaulted four times in March at the school, and Infante tried to get her to visit his home. Infante resigned. He is set to appear in court July 6.
Lara Delph "Buck" Jenkins II: The 32-year-old assistant principal at Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City was arrested in April after two girls accused him of molesting them at the school. He is charged with six felonies, including lewd or indecent acts with a child under 16, lewd or indecent proposals to a child, sexual battery and indecent exposure. Two teen-age students allege Jenkins asked for sex when they went to speak with him about excessive absences. One of the girls secretly taped her conversation with Jenkins. His next court appearance is set for June 27.
Washington E. Jones: In February, Jones, 42, quit his job as a special education teacher at Harding Middle School in Oklahoma City after a 12-year-old student accused him of inappropriately touching her. The girl told police that Jones put his hand between her overalls and shirt and touched her chest, according to court documents. He is charged with a felony count of lewd or indecent acts with a child under age 16. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 27.
John Kerr: The 30-year-old former football coach at Pioneer-Pleasant Vale High School is accused of sexually assaulting a student. He faces a dozen sex-related complaints, including second-degree rape by instrumentation. Through his attorney, Kerr denies the charges and believes the student conspired with the team's assistant coach to help someone else get hired as Pioneer's coach. The school relieved Kerr of his coaching duties in February, and he subsequently resigned.
Clarence Matthews: The former John Marshall High School math teacher is accused of two felony counts of indecent or lewd acts with a child under age 16. The charges do not involve students. He resigned, and his next court date is set for June 27.
Ray L. Menge: The Southeast High School vocational teacher was arrested at his home March 13 and charged with possessing child pornography. Menge's one-year contract with the Oklahoma City School District will not be renewed. His next court date is set for June 21.
Scott R. Webb: The former Moore High School girls basketball coach is accused of molesting a 15-year-old student in the high school locker room, according to police and court documents. Webb, 27, resigned in lieu of termination proceedings. He was ordered last week to stand trial in Cleveland County District Court.
