OKLAHOMA CITY — Attorney David Slane filed paperwork Tuesday afternoon at the Oklahoma County Courthouse that challenges one of the state’s sex offender laws.
He represents Tyrone Nash, a former Western Heights High School coach charged with five counts of second-degree rape and five counts of forcible oral sodomy.
Nash’s victim is a 16-year-old student, and reportedly, the two had an extensive relationship.
The law states the 16-year-old girl is old enough to have sex but another Oklahoma law makes sex between a student and a teach or coach illegal.
Slane said that second law needs to be changed.
“We haven’t gone crazy and we’re not arguing that teachers and students should have sexual relations but what we are saying is that this is a poorly written law, it needs to be struck down and the law needs to be written properly,” Slane said.
Slane said the law ensnares people like Nash, because if Nash was not employed by a school district, he would be free to have a sexual relationship with the student.
“We suspect that this trial will be put on hold until that law can be determined if it’s constitutional,” Slane said.
The Department of Education also issued a statement:
“One of Superintendent Barresi’s core concerns is for the safety and the well-being of every Oklahoma student. She will be watching this case closely for an outcome.”