Former Sand Springs teacher charged with molesting student
BY AMANDA BLAND World Staff Writer
Monday, August 20, 2012
8/20/12 at 9:55 PM
A former Sand Springs science teacher was charged with lewd molestation and other counts Monday.
Steven Marcus Beard, 37, faces 10 counts of lewd molestation, one count of lewd or indecent proposals to a child and one count of furnishing an alcoholic beverage to a minor, Tulsa County court filings show.
He is accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl he met while substitute teaching at Clyde Boyd Middle School, Sand Springs police said. The girl told her mother she feared she was pregnant and showed her mother explicit text messages from Beard, police said.
The mother contacted the police, who arrested Beard at his home, Assistant Police Chief Mike Carter said.
The filings allege that Beard molested the girl at his home between July 22 and Aug. 9 and provided her with beer on at least one occasion. Beard told police he had sexual intercourse with the girl 10 to 12 times and sent her text messages under the name “Wonder Boy,” police allege.
Beard was arrested on a second-degree rape complaint, but prosecutors elected to charge Beard with lewd molestation, which offers a greater range of punishment, said Assistant District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler. The maximum sentence for lewd molestation is 20 years, whereas second-degree rape is limited to 15.
Lewd molestation is also considered an "85 percent" crime, he said, meaning that if Beard is convicted he will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
The age disparity between Beard and his victim also made lewd molestation appropriate based on the facts of the case, Kunzweiler said.
Beard worked for the district as a full-time science teacher between 1999 and 2006, when he left to pursue a career as a personal trainer, administrators said. He applied to work as a substitute teacher in 2011.
Carter said that while police have no evidence that other students were victimized, anyone with additional information regarding Beard or the case can contact investigators at 918-245-8777.
Associated Images:
Steven Marcus Beard
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