Teacher admits recording under Oklahoma student’s skirt and gets prison time, feds say
A former Oklahoma teacher has been sentenced to five years in prison after he recorded a video underneath a female student’s skirt, prosecutors said in a Dec. 16 news release.
Jason Scott Byrd, 46, pleaded guilty to attempted receipt of child pornography, video voyeurism and obstruction of justice. He has been sentenced to 60 months in prison, and 15 years of supervised release, according to the release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Oklahoma.
A male student said he saw the Bixby High School teacher recording the video under a female student’s skirt, and immediately reported it, the release said.
Byrd later admitted to recording under multiple other students’ skirts, according to prosecutors. But Brett Swab, Byrd’s lawyer, said there is “no proof” there was more than one victim.
“From the beginning of this he’s taken full responsibility,” Swab told McClatchy News. “He understands his actions were detrimental, and as a result he’s very remorseful to what the victim went through. He’s going to try, when he gets out, to be a productive citizen of society.”
The female student said during the proceedings that Byrd’s actions deeply affected her, according to the Justice Department.
“(Byrd) did not have to physically touch me to hurt me… I was raised my entire life thinking school was a safe place where I could grow and prosper,” she said. “He took away my love for school and my trust for people of higher authority.”
On Aug. 25, 2020, a male student noticed Byrd walking “closely” behind a student with his phone underneath her skirt after a fire drill, the release said. The male student noticed “the red recording square and timer on the screen” was present on Byrd’s phone, meaning the teacher was recording the unaware female student, the release said.
After the male student reported the incident, Byrd was brought in for questioning, but was left with his phone, the release said. During that time he began deleting videos and photos, authorities said.
While he denied the accusations at first, Byrd admitted to recording the student, the release said, along with recording several other students over the previous year — despite Swab saying there is only evidence of one victim.
Byrd taught at Bixby High School since 2008, the release said. The incidents occurred within the Muscogee Nation reservation.
“Jason Byrd’s despicable crimes violated the trust of the Bixby community and the students he served,” Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said in the release. “Two young people are to be commended for their roles in helping to bring this defendant to justice — the young man who saw and reported the crime and the identified victim who bravely spoke at today’s sentencing. I am proud of their courage.”
Bixby is about 20 miles south of Tulsa, Okla.
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If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom.
