A security officer at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa has been released from his job amid allegations that he sexually abused a 13-year-old relative. Police and school officials believe that Yvon Demesmin, 42, was not involved in any inappropriate activity with students at the school and that his accuser is the only victim.
Demesmin was arrested on September 3 after Tulsa police received a report that he had been molesting a family member for the past year. He was booked into the Tulsa County Jail on three complaints of sexual abuse of a minor. He was held on $150,000 bond but has since been released.
That same day, a woman filed an emergency protective order against Demesmin on behalf of herself and her three children, which prevents the man from having any contact with the victim or the other parties named in the order, and he is prevented from returning to the home he once shared with them. He must remain 100 feet from them at all times.
Police say Demesmin admitted to sexually abusing the girl, but said that he has never sexually assaulted any other child. They say he tried to mitigate the offense by saying that in his native country of Haiti, being sexually involved with a minor relative was "acceptable." However, the woman's protective order and her decision to turn to police over the sexual abuse of her child certainly belies his assertion that his acts were permissible in another country. Furthermore, the age of consent in Haiti is 18.
Regardless of whether or not sex with minors and sexually abusing children is "acceptable" in foreign lands, it is neither morally nor legally acceptable in the United States.
Demesmin was charged this week in Tulsa County District Court with five counts of child sexual abuse in violation of 21 O.S. § 843.5 (E). This statute says that an parent or other person convicted of willfully or maliciously engaging in child sexual abuse is guilty of a felony punishable by a maximum of life in prison. If the victim is under the age of 12, the offense is punishable by a minimum of 25 years in prison.
Read more about child sexual abuse laws in Oklahoma.
Child sexual abuse is a Level 3 sex offense. Anyone convicted of this crime is considered to be the highest risk to public safety and at the highest risk of re-offense, regardless of any other factors or considerations in the case. Level 3 sex offenders are subject to lifetime sex offender registration and all the stigma and restrictions associated with being an Oklahoma Sex Offender.
