The Muskogee Public Schools school board has voted to accept the resignation of a junior high track coach accused of an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student.
In March, administrators at Alice Robertson Junior High became aware of allegations about a possible inappropriate relationship between Brenton Duncan, 47, and a 14-year-old girl on the track team. The school district's police department notified Muskogee Police that the girl's cell phone needed to be searched for evidence related to the allegations.
Duncan was arrested on suspicion of lewd or indecent acts or proposals to a child under 16; a few days later, he was formally charged with one count of child sexual abuse.
According to reports, the track coach allegedly admitted to investigators that he had purchased four pairs of Victoria's Secret panties for the girl.
At one point, the girl sent a text message to her track coach saying that her sweats were too big and asking if she could wear leggings instead. An affidavit states Duncan responded inappropriately: “The suspect admitted that he sent a text back that said, ‘yes with Victoria Secret under’ then sent ‘LOL’ with a smiley face (and) ‘just kidding.’”
In early March, the coach allegedly sent the girl a text asking her to send him "a surprise," and she responded by sending him four pictures of her, from the waist down, wearing the underwear that he had purchased for her.
Duncan allegedly admitted that he never told the girl it was inappropriate for her to send him such pictures. He says he deleted the picture soon after she sent them.
The alleged relationship lasted from December 2015 through early March, when school officials became aware of the allegations.
On March 14, after Duncan's arrest, Muskogee Public Schools administration released the following statement on the district's Facebook page:
When the District first became aware of the allegations against one of our employees, we promptly started an investigation of the matter by our campus police department with assistance from the local police department. The police investigation led to evidence by accessing cell phones that warranted the teacher being put on involuntary administrative leave.
Since this a personnel matter that involves students the district will not be providing any additional details beyond those released by the police or district attorney. We take this position to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation and to protect the privacy rights of MPS students and their families. However, I want to ensure our students and parents that the safety of our students is of the utmost importance. As such, we are continuing to fully cooperate with law enforcement as they move forward with this issue.
I find this incident to be shocking and upsetting. Every day, the Muskogee community and our MPS parents and families entrust us with the care and education of their children. And, every day, 700+ MPS team members come to our schools and campuses to do the right thing for Muskogee’s children.
MPS maintains strong processes to conduct thorough background checks and teacher evaluations. And—as in this case—we will investigate all allegations and take appropriate action to ensure our classrooms and school communities are safe. We also ask families to speak with children about what to do if they feel uncomfortable about any behavior—and to encourage and empower them to report such behavior to responsible adults.
After his arrest, Duncan was released on $10,000 bond, and until his resignation, was on involuntary administrative leave with the district. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 20.
