Former Oklahoma teacher arrested for soliciting sex with child on Craigslist

Published 10:30 am Wednesday, August 5, 2015

A former Oklahoma school teacher was charged Tuesday for soliciting sex with a child on Craigslist.

Joseph Leon Love, 25, was charged in Canadian County, Oklahoma with attempted lewd acts to a child under 16, possession of child pornography, unlawful possession of controlled drugs with intent to distribute and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

After detectives responded to Love’s post on Craigslist, Love began to try and arrange a meeting with what he believed to be a underage male for the purpose of sexual intercourse, according to police.

On Monday, Love traveled to El Reno for the purpose of meeting up with the person he believed to be the underage male and was arrested without incident. During the arrest, Love was found to be in possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and images of child pornography, police said.             

The El Reno, Oklahoma Police Department, working in cooperation with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit, investigated the case for months. It began as a result of detectives responding to a post on a social media site, El Reno police said.

Love is currently out on a bond of $60,500.

Love was a temporary teacher assigned to Longfellow Middle School in the Norman, Oklahoma Public School system. He was a first-year teacher last year, said Alesha Leemaster, public information officer for Norman Public Schools.

“All first-year teachers are hired on a temporary contract. He was an intern and did his student teaching in the district when he was in college,” Leemaster said.

Norman Public Schools also released the following statement regarding the incident:

“Student safety is a priority for Norman Public Schools. We were informed today (Tuesday) by the El Reno Police Department of charges filed against a temporary teacher assigned to Longfellow Middle School and we are cooperating with investigators. We have received the employee’s resignation, prior to the district’s recommendation for termination, and he is no longer employed with the district. The district soon will make appropriate Oklahoma State Board of Education notifications in compliance with recent state legislation.”

Through the course of the investigation, it was determined Love was not only employed as a teacher in the Norman Public School system, but also is currently employed by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health as a temporary teacher in their facility, according to El Reno Police.

Due to the scope of Love’s employment, both facilities were contacted and made aware of Love’s arrest and the charges filed against him.

Bruha writes for The Norman (Okla.) Transcript