Peckham principal suspended following accusations

Staff Reports

PECKHAM — Peckham Public School Superintendent and Principal Gary Young is on administrative leave following the indefinite suspension of his teaching and administrative certificates, after allegations of sexual misconduct by numerous teachers and faculty members.

The Oklahoma Department of Education (ODE) suspended his teaching certificate in August in the interest of student safety, said ODE General Counsel Brad Clark.

The board received numerous complaints in the weeks prior to the meeting.
“The allegations we have received about Mr. Young span multiple age ranges of children and adults at the school district, misappropriate sexual conduct with children and adults,” Clark said.

The accusations go back decades but ODE had only recently received those allegations, he said.

“As of August, it had been within a month or so of the meeting, three – four weeks, the information was coming to us, and we took action very quickly to protect public safety,” he said.

The ODE released an eight-page application for emergency order for the suspension, detailing Young’s alleged misconducts.

According to the document, “Young has sexually assaulted adults and minors, groomed minors for sexual abuse and unfairly compensated teachers in exchange for sexual relationships.”

The report alleges multiple incidents, including that in 2015, “a minor claimed that a heavily intoxicated Young approached her and started rubbing her shoulders, and she became very uncomfortable.”

The report also states that, “Information recently provided to the ODSE evidences multiple former Peckham students recounting situations where Young had made them feel uncomfortable at his home.”
School district members also cited sexual misconduct, according to the report.

“The Department received a complaint that Young has had an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of his staff members for years,” the report states. “The staff member is a certified teacher.”
Young had not been charged with a crime but is barred from serving in a public school in Oklahoma.
“With the board acting on the emergency order, Mr. Young is not allowed to be in an Oklahoma public school, and the suspension and revocation orders have been put in a database we share with other states,” Clark said.

PPS declined to comment, and District Attorney Brian Hermanson indicated no charges have been filed per the investigation.