by Jordan Green, News Editor
A Northwestern Oklahoma State University student is facing charges after admitting to having sex and living with an underage male runaway in her dormitory room.
Freshman pre-nursing major Micalah Michelle Jones is facing one felony count of child sexual abuse and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
According to an affidavit filed in Woods County District Court, a staff member at Northwestern contacted the Woods County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 25 to report that staffers had found an underage male in Jones’ room at South Hall, a women’s residence hall on campus. Deputy Adam Honeyman identified the male as a 14-year-old Enid resident who had been reported to the Enid Police Department as a runaway four days earlier. Jones was taken into custody, and Honeyman “requested assistance in investigating this,” according to the affidavit.
Steve Tanio, an investigator with the Woods County District Attorney’s Office, interviewed Jones after her arrest. In the interview, Jones said that she met the juvenile in December 2018 via social media outlet Snapchat. The two allegedly communicated from December to October of this year. Jones and the juvenile first met Oct. 11, when Jones and another female student drove to Enid and picked the juvenile up, according to the affidavit. They brought the juvenile to Jones’ dormitory room at the university, and they later took him back to Enid.
That wasn’t the only encounter Jones had with the juvenile. According to the affidavit, Jones and the other female student made three trips to pick up the juvenile. In each instance, Jones and the juvenile performed in her dormitory room “a wide variety of sexual activity to include, intercourse, fondling, and oral/genital conduct,” according to the affidavit.
Jones and the juvenile did not exchange sexually explicit images via Snapchat, according to the affidavit, but Jones did admit to sending the message “Will you d**k me down” to the juvenile.
Jones also said she had provided beer and whiskey to the juvenile at her parents’ home in Fairview.
In a written statement provided to the investigator, Jones said that she is “deeply sorry” for her actions.
“If I could I would take every single thing I did back,” she wrote, according to the affidavit.
The investigator also interviewed the juvenile, who said he had stayed in Jones’ room since Oct. 21. He confirmed that the pair “engaged in sexual activity,” according to the affidavit.
Jones was booked into the Woods County Jail on Oct. 28. She was released on an $11,000 bond Nov. 1.
Under Oklahoma law, a felony count of child sexual abuse is punishable by up to life imprisonment. The misdemeanor count is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to one year – or both.
DORMITORY POLICIES
While Jones will face criminal charges for her conduct, she’ll also have to face officials with the university housing department for breaking residence hall guidelines.
University policy bans children under the age of 18 from staying in residence halls overnight unless they are full-time students at Northwestern. Children who are visiting the residence halls must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and the university housing director must approve of any overnight guest who stays in the residence halls, according to the university’s residence hall guidelines.
A violation of any housing guidelines could result in a fine or eviction.
Matt Adair, the university housing director, said he could not comment on Jones’ student status at the university due to the pending investigation.
CAMPUS POLICE
Campus Police Chief Ethan Kennedy said his department handed the case over to the Woods County District Attorney’s Office because his department does not have the resources to investigate “sex crimes, hate crimes, or homicides.”
Kennedy said that his department turns certain cases over to the district attorney’s office because it has “more resources.” The campus police department handles traffic accidents, drug crimes, domestic disputes, fights, and other misdemeanors.
“We don’t have the resources to investigate sex crimes,” he said.