A Wellston teacher has been charged with sexual battery after he was accused of having a relationship with a former student.
Robert Doyle Blankenship, 42, was charged Wednesday with one count of sexual battery and one count of blackmail.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Blankenship was accused of touching a student after she turned 18.
Sometime during the relationship, the former student said Blankenship threatened her and said if she told anyone about their relationship, "he would expose her previously mentioned traumatic event to everyone," according to the Lincoln County court document.
Blankenship was employed by Oklahoma City Public Schools starting in January. The school district released the following statement:
“On February 26, 2020, OKCPS was made aware of the pending criminal charges against a teacher at Star Spencer Mid-High. This teacher was hired in January 2020 on a temporary contract and has only been with the district for a few weeks. However, based on this new information, he is no longer eligible for employment. As always, the safety of our students and staff is a top priority. OKCPS works to ensure state law and board policies are followed, and if violations are found, they are quickly addressed. Because this is a personnel issue, we cannot comment further at this time.”
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