Two Bixby Men Facing Nearly 3 Dozen Counts Of Sexual Assault Against Minors

NewsOn6.com

BIXBY, OKLAHOMA -- Two Bixby men are in the Tulsa County jail charged with multiple complaints of rape, lewd molestation and lewd acts with a minor under 16. 

Derek Shepherd, 21, and David Owens, 33, were arrested this week after an investigation by Bixby Police. 

Bixby Police Sergeant Andy Choate says Shepherd was arrested Tuesday, August 17, 2010.  Choate says the department became involved after the parents of a 14-year-old girl allegedly involved with Shepherd notified police. 

Police say this all started because she tried to play hooky from school.

"Called into school to have her excused from class. I think the excuse that she used was that she was going to be sick for the day," Sergeant Andrew Choate, Bixby Police, said. "He had pretended to be the child's father."

After interviewing the girl and Shepherd, Choate says Shepherd was arrested and booked into the Tulsa County jail on 12 complaints of second degree rape and three complaints of lewd proposal/acts to a minor. 

The girl told police that one of their sexual encounters had been filmed by another juvenile female, according to the arrest report.  Police said Shepherd's trailer was a popular hangout for area teenagers.

The report says that during questioning, Shepherd told officers about Owens' involvement with a 13-year-old Bixby female. 

Choate says police interviewed that teen and David Owens.  The teen told police she and Owens had been "dating" for about four months, according to the Bixby Police Department arrest report.

Owens was arrested Wednesday, August 18, 2010 on 11 complaints of lewd molestation of minor and 10 complaints of rape by instrumentation. 

He, too, was booked into the Tulsa County jail. 

There may be more charges to come for both suspects.

"Reason to believe that there were photographs taken and video taken on several occasions," Sergeant Choate said.

Sergeant Choate says the girls said they knew what they were doing was wrong.

"Felt like these male subjects understood them and were really caring," said Sergeant Choate. "They felt like they were involved in a relationship."

Sergeant Choate says one girl's mother didn't even know her daughter had a cell phone; it was given to her by the suspect.

"What may seem as intrusive and overbearing may actually protect your child," Sergeant Choate said.

Sergeant Choate advises parents to get involved in their kids' lives. Check their Facebook pages, check their cell phones, and know who their friends are.