A Tulsa County juvenile detention officer is accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile detainee in exchange for money and covering up records related to the investigation into the incident.
Jonathan Hines has been charged with child human trafficking, possessing a cellphone in jail or prison and destroying evidence in connection with the alleged offense. He denies the allegations.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the alleged victim told a Juvenile Center employee he “was mad and wanted his money.” He said Hines had given him a $20 bill as partial payment for sex.
The youth said Hines acted like the toilet in his cell was clogged, came into his room and had sex with him.
He told authorities his friends told him to “mess with” Hines in exchange for cartridges, edibles, marijuana products and money. He said Hines was “hitting on him real hard,” and that Hines offered him sex after he brought up Hines’ OnlyFans account, the affidavit states.
The detainee also said Hines gave him his cellphone number, the affidavit states.
Hines told members of the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office that the allegations against him were “mind blowing,” and said he is “not that type of person.” Hines said he tried to build rapport with the detainees in the detention center, the affidavit states.
Investigators claimed seven detainees had said Hines made them feel uncomfortable. Hines claimed they started doing this in retaliation because he started enforcing the rules and doing cell searches, the affidavit states.
Detectives allegedly discovered Hines deleted messages on his phone related to the investigation after they asked to search his phone, the affidavit states.
In a statement, members of the Family Center for Juvenile Justice claimed employees have reported “each incident” that has come to their attention, and that the employees in these incidents were “promptly terminated.”
“For the last year, OJA has been in our facility weekly, engaged with our detainees, employees, and staff. They have unlimited access to the FCJJ, including access to our staff, detainees, and security cameras,” the statement reads.
Members of the public interest law group Oklahoma Appleseed Center called on Attorney General Gentner Drummond “to conduct a full investigation of the allegations.”
“I always believe it’s better to do an independent investigation from a separate law enforcement entity so that we just don’t have any questions about if there was a conflict of interest in the case,” said Appleseed Director Colleen McCarty.
In a statement, Appleseed says it has helped coordinate family therapy with the center for more than a year. They said there is “cultural rot at the heart of the organization that has led to a culture of neglect, exploitation, trafficking, and sex crimes against children,” the statement reads.
Members of Drummond’s office said in a statement that the Attorney General is confident the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office can handle the case.
