A former Oklahoma City high school teacher arrested earlier this summer for allegedly having unwanted physical sexual contact with students has been charged in Oklahoma County District Court.
Curtis Lamont Lowe, 43, was a science teacher and volleyball coach at Southeast High School, where three female students say he touched them inappropriately and made sexually suggestive comments to them.
Lowe was arrested in July after the girls made their claims against him, and he was fired 10 days after his arrest.
The former teacher is accused of placing his hand on the legs of the female accusers, and sliding it up until he touched their bottoms. He is also accused of making a sexually explicit comment as one student blew into a cadaver's lungs in front of the class, and of asking another what sexual positions she had tried.
While three students have accused him of wrongdoing, others support their teacher, calling the allegations "out of character."
Lowe was charged earlier this week in Oklahoma County District court with three felony counts of sexual battery.
Sexual battery is defined in 21 O.S. § 1123 of the state statutes as non-consensual physical, sexual contact with a person aged 16 or older:
"Sexual battery" shall mean the intentional touching, mauling or feeling of the body or private parts of any person sixteen (16) years of age or older, in a lewd and lascivious manner:
1. Without the consent of that person;
2. When committed by a state, county, municipal or political subdivision employee or a contractor or an employee of a contractor of the state, a county, a municipality or political subdivision of this state upon a person who is under the legal custody, supervision or authority of a state agency, a county, a municipality or a political subdivision of this state;
3. When committed upon a person who is at least sixteen (16) years of age and is less than twenty (20) years of age and is a student, or in the legal custody or supervision of any public or private elementary or secondary school, or technology center school, by a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and is an employee of the same school system that the victim attends; or
4. When committed upon a person who is nineteen (19) years of age or younger and is in the legal custody of a state agency, federal agency or a tribal court, by a foster parent or foster parent applicant.
Sexual battery carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years for each count. Additionally, anyone convicted of sexual battery in Oklahoma must register as a Level 3 sex offender, which requires lifetime sex offender registration.
When local reporters asked Lowe for a statement regarding the charges, he simply said, "It's a no-win situation." Being accused of a sex crime can certainly feel like a no-win situation, but working with an attorney experienced in handling complex sex crime cases can give the accused the best opportunity for a favorable outcome. To speak confidentially with a lawyer about your case, call (405) 417-3842.
Image Credit: Joe Gratz
