Accused teacher on PR bond booked

Derrick James, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·2 min read

Mar. 18—A McAlester teacher accused of lewd or indecent acts and proposals against a student reported for booking into the Pittsburg County Jail days after his initial appearance.

Court documents show Lester Young II, 41, of McAlester, was charged with the two felony counts Monday in Pittsburg County District Court.

On the charge of lewd and indecent acts to a child under 16, Young is accused of knowingly and intentionally feeling the buttocks of a student by grabbing her buttocks during a hug on March 9, 2021.

The charge of lewd and indecent proposals to a child under 16 accuses Young of making an electronically generated lewd proposal to the child under 16 by requesting a hug on March 9.

Young, represented by J. Michael Miller, was granted a personal recognizance bond during his Monday initial appearance with orders to have no contact with the alleged victim or with the school "except to pick up personal items and/or administrative contact," according to court documents.

District 18 Special District Judge Mindy Beare told the News-Capital the personal recognizance bond was an agreement between Young's attorney and the District 18 District Attorney's Office, but that it was never ruled he did not have to immediately turn himself in at the Pittsburg County Jail.

Miller said he did not know why his client waited until today to do his walk-through at the county jail, but confirmed there was no deal made for Young to not report to the jail for a booking photo and to be fingerprinted.

District 18 First Assistant District Attorney Adam Scharn had no comment after an inquiry into the status of Young's booking showed the man was in the process of being booked into the jail Thursday morning.

McAlester Public Schools issued a statement on social media Wednesday regarding the situation.

"The McAlester Public Schools is aware of public speculation about allegations concerning a current employee. Appropriate steps have been taken and we are working to collect information. Because this is a personnel matter that involves individual rights, we will have no further statement or comment at this time."

Court documents show Young is scheduled for the April 16, 2021 disposition docket at 9 a.m.

Contact Derrick James at djames@mcalesternews.com