Three Westmoore High School students have been arrested and a third is the subject of an arrest warrant after the four teens were accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl.
Statutory Rape Charges
The 18- and 19-year-olds were arrested after the girl told a counselor that she had sex with the four teens at a home in late January. The girl's mother then reported the incident to police.
The girl said that she and Johnathan Henderson, 18, left school together on January 26, and en route to a house, they picked up three other young men, identified as Boston Williams, 19; John Delmoral, 18; and Terrel Skinner, 18.
When they arrived at the house, the girl says she and Henderson went upstairs to "make out." While they were upstairs, the other three teens entered the room. She says that she then had sex with all four teens, but that she was not forced, nor did she ask them to stop. Reports say she told her mother that she had sex with all four teens even though she knew it was a "bad situation" because she " didn't know how to get out of it."
Oklahoma County Jail records show that Williams, Delmoral, and Skinner have been arrested and, as of this writing, are currently held in detention. Williams is held on $25,000 bond for a complaint of second degree rape. While jail records show Delmoral and Skinner in custody, their records do not currently indicate the criminal complaint or bond amount. Cleveland County Court records show that Delmoral is also charged with second degree rape, but at this time, court records are not available for Skinner.
In addition to the second degree rape charge for Delmoral, Cleveland County Court records show that Williams is charged with second degree rape, and Henderson, who has not yet been arrested, is charged with rape by instrumentation.
One interesting note: if court records are accurate, Henderson turned 18 on February 2, 2007. If the alleged incident occurred on January 26 as claimed, Henderson would have only been 17 at the time--not 18 or older as required for a second degree rape charge. This may be why Henderson is not charged with second degree rape, but rape by instrumentation instead. However, state law in 21 O.S. 1111.1 says rape by instrumentation occurs "without consent," and the girl says that she was neither forced to engage in sex nor did she ask the men to stop. It seems as if this could be an easy charge for a defense attorney to get dismissed.
Oklahoma Consent Laws
In Oklahoma the age of consent is 16, and it is illegal for anyone over the age of 18 to have sex with a minor under 16. "Consensual" sex between an adult and a minor under 16 is prosecuted as second degree rape, frequently known as statutory rape.
Although statutory rape involves a willing participant, it is considered a Level 3 sex crime--the highest risk category according to the Department of Corrections leveling tool. For the purposes of risk level assessment, statutory rape is classified with violent sex crimes, forcible rape, and child rape. Anyone convicted of statutory rape must register as a sex offender for life.
To read more about rape charges and defense strategies check out this article.
