Norman Martial Arts Instructor Accused Of Lewd Acts With A Child

An inappropriate relationship between a martial arts instructor and a teenage student lands the instructor in jail. And it was all discovered when that teen's parents started looking at her activity on Facebook and on her phone.

Cleon Quentin Self, 38, was booked into the Cleveland County detention center on April 24 and is being held on a $250,000 bond. Court papers state he confessed to molesting a 14-year-old girl who was one of his students.

He also admitted to bringing a condom to the gym to try to have sex with her.

Court papers state most of the sexual encounters happened at the Edge Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym in Norman. This is where Self said he put his hands down the teen's pants. He also confessed to sending her naked pictures of himself on the phone and asked her to do the same. And she did.

Court papers state the teen admitted that all of their communication was done via Facebook Private Messenger and that Self would tell her to erase their messages and images at the end of their communications. But authorities say the evidence will be easy to track down despite that.

“Anytime people think they are erasing it off their phone, it's still hidden in the memory, still accessible to law enforcement,” said Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn.

“We can get it from the phone itself. We can also get it from the phone companies. You think something's gone and then when you are 28 or 30 years old and going for a job interview they search your name and who knows what could pop up.”

Mashburn says they do not believe there are any other victims at the gym at this time.

The inappropriate relationship was discovered when the teenager's stepfather grew suspicious of her Facebook activity and discovered inappropriate messages from Self on her account.

“Thank goodness in this case there were parents that were monitoring it, were looking at it and immediately noticed what was going on and then took actions,” said Mashburn.

The 14 year old also told investigators that Self attempted to have sex with her one day when her mom dropped off early for class at the gym.

Those who work around the gym told News 9 Self ran the gym along with his wife. She wasn't at the gym or at the couple's home in Moore for interview.

Court papers reveal those Facebook conversations started out innocently enough, but turned graphic very quickly.

Right now, Self is facing six felony counts, four counts of Lewd Acts with a Child and two counts of Solicitation of a Minor.