A 51-year-old Moore High School teacher is charged with forcible sodomy after allegedly committing sex acts with a 17-year-old high school student.
On March 4, Moore Public Schools officials became aware of allegations of an inappropriate relationship between Sandra G. Mayfield, of Norman, and the student. The teacher was placed on administrative leave, and the case was turned over to law enforcement for investigation.
Investigators say Mayfield picked up the teen around 8:30 p.m. on February 27, and that the two drove around together for several hours. Reports say the two are seen together on surveillance cameras around town, and that they are seen hugging and kissing in some of the footage.
In the early morning hours of February 28, according to investigators, the woman drove the teen to a local park, where the two got in the back seat of her vehicle, and she performed oral sex on him.
As a result of the investigation, Mayfield was charged in Cleveland County District Court with a single charge of forcible sodomy. A warrant was issued for her arrest, and she appeared with her attorney before a judge. Although the district attorney's office requested $20,000 bond, the judge set bond at $1,000.
Forcible sodomy is a felony sex crime typically referring to non-consensual oral sex. In this case, the teen allegedly involved was 17--past Oklahoma's age of consent, which is 16. However, under state law, no student under the age of 20 has the legal capacity to consent to sexual activity with any employee, aged 18 or older, of the same school system the student attends.
Oklahoma law, in 21 O.S. § 888, defines the following acts as forcible sodomy:
1. Sodomy committed by a person over eighteen (18) years of age upon a person under sixteen (16) years of age; or
2. Sodomy committed upon a person incapable through mental illness or any unsoundness of mind of giving legal consent regardless of the age of the person committing the crime; or
3. Sodomy accomplished with any person by means of force, violence, or threats of force or violence accompanied by apparent power of execution regardless of the age of the victim or the person committing the crime; or
4. Sodomy 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; or
5. Sodomy committed upon a person who is at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than twenty (20) years of age and is a student of any public or private secondary school, junior high or high school, or public vocational school, with a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and is employed by the same school system.
Forcible sodomy is a felony sex crime punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison. Under the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registration Act, it is a Level 3 sex offense mandating lifetime sex offender registration.
Image credit: Michael Coghlan
