TISHOMINGO, Okla. – An Oklahoma teacher was arrested Friday for inappropriate contact with a child.
Around 9:30 a.m. Friday, special agents with the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation arrested Shelley Jo Duncan, 48, after Tishomingo Police asked for help. The OSBI was able to interview several people and gather enough evidence to make the arrest.
“We believe there was an inappropriate sexual relationship between this women and a young male student,” said OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown. “The Tishomingo Police Dept. requested OSBI and had gathered this information of an alleged affair was going on.”
Agents booked Duncan into the Johnston County Jail on a complaint of lewd or indecent proposals or acts with a child under 16.
Shelley Duncan is married to Tishomingo Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Duncan. She is a certified Pre-K-12 counselor and works as an English teacher at an alternative education high school in the district.
Previously, Duncan worked at the Office of Juvenile Affairs as a Juvenile Justice Specialist from 1998-2006. Then she moved on to the Department of Corrections, where she worked as a probation and parole officer. She resigned in 2012.
At Tishomingo High School, Duncan works as the head coach of the cheer team.
“I just don’t think it’s right for any teacher to be that inappropriate to any child,” said Alice Tyner, whose kids and grandkids have attended Tishomingo Schools. “If anything happened to them I’d have to wonder why this had to take place in a school system where they’re supposed to be protected. And if they’re not being protected at the school system when you drop them off, who’s going to watch them then?”
Superintendent Duncan was not in the office when NewsChannel 4 dropped by. The high school principal said the district will come up with a statement, which NewsChannel 4 has yet to receive.
The day before the school’s homecoming game, parents say they will remind their kids to be careful and speak up if something doesn’t seem right.
“I don’t put anything past happening anywhere,” said Jeremy Hallows, a parent. “The way stuff’s happening here lately, you never know what’s going to happen. You’ve just gotta be prepared. Do what you can to keep your kids safe.”
Sheimeka Davis plans to talk to her four kids, all of whom attend Tishomingo schools.
“You want to be mindful and have your child be alert and let you know and be communicative,” she said. “I’m always telling my kids if someone is talking to you or someone’s doing something that you don’t feel is right and that you know is not right, please come tell an adult as soon as possible.”
The OSBI is asking people to come forward if they believe they are a victim of a similar crime.
Shelley Duncan is free from jail on bail.
