BishopAccountability.org
	Coleman Teacher Arrested Accused of Sexually Abusing Child at Church By Maddie Garrett KXII December 21, 2009 http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/79859662.html [with video] DURANT, OK – A Coleman High School science teacher is in jail after being charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. Durant Police say 51-year-old Billy Ray Smith was arrested last Saturday on three accounts of child sexual abuse. Officers started the investigation over a week ago after the Department of Human Services received a tip. Public information officer Carrie Wyrick says the victim and Smith both attend the same church in Durant, and that's where the instances took place. She says the victim and Smith came in for voluntary interviews last week "Based on information given both by the victim and the suspect there was enough to make an arrest. The investigation is far from being over, it's going to be a long process just because there are different jurisdictions involved and trying to gather information from a lot of different locations,” said Wyrick. Wyrick says the victim reported the abuse has been going on for at least two years. So far no reports of assault have been filed in Coleman, Oklahoma, or at the school where Smith teaches. But Police are looking into it. "We don't know how long he's been doing this so it's a possibility once the story runs and more victims come forward saying "hey he did this to me too," I mean that's always a possibility or this may be a singular occurrence, just typically it's not,” said Wyrick. Billy Smith is currently charged with three counts of sexually abusing a child and forcible sodomy, which are felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Smith was arraigned in a Bryan County Court room Monday afternoon to be formally charged. And Wyrick says they expect additional charges will be filed as the investigation continues. Contact: maddie.garrett@kxii.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.