A former Oklahoma high school teacher has been arrested for allegedly exchanging “lewd and indecent messages” with multiple students.
A court document indicates Serena Cator was arrested on March 16 on three counts of soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor.
Citing an arrest affidavit, KFOR reported Cator, a former teacher at McLoud High School, allegedly “admitted she has been sending and receiving lewd and indecent messages and pictures from several of her male students.”
District officials reportedly first became aware of the allegations in September, leading to Cator being placed on administrative leave, per KFOR.
FOX 25 reported the district turned over their information to police, leading to the criminal investigation.
“We received the information from the school in November of 2022, so the investigation pretty much started then,” McLoud Police Chief Kyle Webb said. “It took a little while it was a pretty in-depth investigation, and then we turned everything over to the DA, and they filed three counts against Serena.”
“Most of the young victims said they found the situation extremely weird and cut off correspondence before they got lured to Snapchat or just after. Most of the parents felt uneasy about the constant texts and pictures from class and from sporting events, where Cator was bragging on the students.” the arrest affidavit reads, per KFOR. “All the parents said if it had been their daughter and a male teacher they would have been alarmed but each said they pushed down the ‘weirdness’ of it because it was their sons and a female teacher, who they ‘thought’ they knew.”
Fox 25 received a statement from the school district, indicating Cator is no longer teaching:
Last November, McLoud Public Schools was made aware of a possible incident involving a school employee. The allegation initiated a prompt and thorough investigation by the district. Immediately, all findings were turned over to the McLoud Police Department and the employee was placed on administrative leave. Subsequently, she is no longer employed by the district. The safety of our students is paramount and we will always strive to protect the integrity of MPS.
A release report indicated Cator was released on a $15,000 bond with a no-contact provision on March 16.