Former Peckham Superintendent charged with six felonies

NEWKIRK — Former Peckham Public School Superintendent Gary Young, 65, was charged Wednesday morning on six felony counts in Kay County District Court.

The charges include three counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16 (felony); two counts of causing, procuring or permitting injury or sex abuse to a child (felony); and one count of blackmail (felony).

The charges stem from encounters with two children, a teenager and an adult.

Young’s attorney Mack Martin declined to comment. A judge set bond at $50,000, and set conditions on Young’s release.

Young is required to wear an ankle monitor and submit to daily in-home alcohol testing, the order said.

He is required to remain on house arrest with the exception of attending medical appointments, religious services and meetings with his attorney in Oklahoma City. He is also restricted from entering the Township of Peckham and is to have no contact with the victims, Peckham School staff members or any listed witnesses in the case, excluding his wife.

The court also ordered that Young have no firearms in the home, and he is to have daily check-ins with Alternative Sentencing Solutions. If there is any violation, Alternative Sentencing Solutions must immediately contact the Blackwell Police Department,  the Kay County Sheriff’s Office and the Kay County District Attorney’s Office.

A scheduling hearing is set for 3 p.m. Feb. 13.

In August, Young was accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with children as well as current and former students and staff members, including one staffer who said she received poor evaluations when she rejected his sexual advances.

The state Board of Education voted to suspend Young’s teaching and superintendent certificates pending a revocation hearing. The allegations against him were outlined in the state Education Department’s application for emergency order to suspend and revoke his certification.

“The department has received multiple sexual misconduct complaints against Young,” Brad Clark, the agency’s general counsel, wrote in the application.