TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — A Tahlequah Public Schools employee was charged in Cherokee County Wednesday for first-degree rape of a 16-year-old female student.
A warrant was issued Wednesday for Jermell Montrice Combs, a maintenance employee at TPS.
The state alleges Combs had sex with the girl on or about Feb. 19.
A probable cause affidavit filed by Tahlequah Police Detective Dale Glory says Combs told detectives he has worked for TPS for about a year, delivering mail and paper, and handling other odds-and-ends duties throughout the TPS sites.
TPS Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Denver Spears said Combs is under suspension as routine procedure.
“We have recommended his termination as an employee,” said Spears. “He will have a right to request a hearing before the board of education. If no request is made by the end of the day March 26, he [will be] duly dismissed then.”
According to the affidavit, the victim told a detective she first met Combs about a year ago at her mother’s office when he brought supplies to the building. The victim told police she waits in her mother’s office for classes to begin at the Tahlequah “boot school.”
The victim recalled that on Feb. 18, Combs came into her mother’s office while the girl was there, and before leaving, he asked her if she’d ever kissed or dated older men. The girl told him she had, and Combs left.
The next morning at the same office, Combs arrived and asked the teenager to go to the boot school early. When she arrived on campus, Combs flagged her down. He unlocked a door on another school building, and the two entered the boys’ bathroom. According to the victim, nothing was said, and she and Combs engaged in sex.
Glory said in his affidavit the victim stated she never asked Combs not to touch her or to stop what he was doing.
The victim said she and Combs thought they heard someone in the building, and that Combs told her no one could know about the incident.
The victim said she became afraid she may be pregnant, so she reported the incident.
First-degree rape is a felony punishable by death or imprisonment in the state penitentiary not less than five years. Assistant District Attorney Gregory Combs is prosecuting the case.
Local News
School employee charged with rape
- Local News
-
-
What’s on the bun?
Perhaps no other food on the American summer holiday menu epitomizes patriotism more than a good old-fashioned hamburger.
-
Best gifts can be made from scratch
When hand-crafting gifts to honor loved ones or friends, a fellowship can be born.
-
Injury crash provokes felony charge
Prosecutors have charged a Tahlequah man for his alleged role in causing a crash that put another man on life support.
The charges stem from a May 18 crash at the intersection of the State Highway 51 West bypass and Vinita. -
Testimony in Butcher trial centers on evidence
Testimony given throughout the day Thursday in the first-degree murder case against Bronson William Butcher centered mostly on the state’s investigation of the case.
-
Oklahoma City man charged with larceny here
Prosecutors in Cherokee County have charged an Oklahoma City man with grand larceny, second-degree burglary, and larceny of an automobile.
-
Local men’s shelter at risk of closing
Tom Lewis walked through the semi-completed expansion at Project O Si Yo Thursday, pointing out what services could be provided to area homeless men, if only the funding were available.
-
TPS officials eye earlier start times
A handful of Tahlequah Public Schools parents voiced concern Wednesday evening about a potential change in school start-and-stop times for the upcoming year.
-
Food for thought
With representatives from the Oklahoma Farm & Food Alliance, Sustainable Green Country and Cherokee Nation Healthy Nation Division in attendance, the Tahlequah Food Policy Council on Tuesday shared their ideas on establishing sustainable local food sources for retail ventures.
-
Defense attorney: Witness changed his story
The defense counsel for Bronson Butcher on Wednesday targeted eyewitness accounts of a man who claims he saw the accused shoot an Oktaha man at a Tahlequah home in March 2011.
-
TMS Cancer Carnival raises funds
The Tahlequah Middle School Student Council held its 6th Annual Student Council Cancer Carnival Wednesday to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
