Stillwater Schools Settle Sexual Solicitation Suit
Alberto Morejon was revered among Oklahoma teachers. As a middle school teacher and baseball coach in Stillwater, he started a social media group that attracted 75,000 members, and he played a critical role in organizing the April 2, 2018, teacher walkout that lasted a week and helped increase educators’ pay.
Then, he went to prison. While his star was rising publicly, Morejon was grooming middle-school girls. He sent one sexual pictures and asked for pictures of her. When she complained, she she said in a lawsuit, she was shunned and humiliated. After all, Morejon was everybody’s favorite teacher.
As Jennifer Palmer reported, the student filed a lawsuit against the school district for failing to protect her.
”The grooming consisted of demonstrations of public affection, private lunches, touching, explicit messages, requesting and sending sexual images, and explaining and requesting sexual acts,” the plaintiff said in the lawsuit.
Morejon pleaded guilty to two counts of soliciting sexual contact with a minor on July 7, 2021, was sentenced to five years but was released in less than 17 months for good behavior.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in 2022, was settled and the case dismissed. But the Stillwater school district said they have no idea how much was paid to the victim, have no records pertaining to the settlement and have no record of payments to the victim.
That’s not as weird as it sounds. Although the district wouldn’t say, it is likely their insurance company stepped in and settled rather than going to trial and risking a huge judgment for the plaintiff.
Salina and Kingfisher public schools settled similar lawsuits recently; Kingfisher school district taxpayers will pay $5 million to victims there because the insurance company was insolvent. Another lawsuit is pending in Ringling.
Morejon is one of 50 educators stripped of their teaching licenses by the state Board of Education since 2020.
More worth reading:
Pieper Out at OSDE
Another high-ranking official at the Oklahoma State Department of Education — the leader of its team that determines accreditation for the state’s public schools — has joined the agency’s top attorney in resigning. [The Oklahoman]
Governor Sues Attorney General
Gov. Kevin Stitt and three of his cabinet members on Thursday filed suit against Attorney General Gentner Drummond, challenging his interpretation of state law. Drummond recently issued an opinion that said cabinet secretaries could not hold dual offices, resulting in the immediate resignation of two. [Oklahoma Voice]
Marijuana Task Force Nets Seven Indictments
A state task force focused on large-scale illegal marijuana operations has netted seven indictments after three separate busts in Muskogee, Wagoner and Pottawatomie counties. [Tulsa World]
With 17, Millwood High School has the most 6A boys’ basketball state championships.
Ciao for now,
Ted Streuli
Executive Director, Oklahoma Watch
tstreuli@oklahomawatch.org
